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J.  J.  Bell 


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"  Mind  yer  nut,  auntie !  "  she 
added ;  "  I'm  gaun  to  drap  this  : 
yin." 

A  large  empty  cardboard  box 
fell  at  the  spinster's  feet. 

"  Christina,  I  cannot  allow 
you  to  address  me  in  that  dis- 
respectful fashion !  "  Miss  Pur 
vis  cried  indignantly.  "  Mind 
my  nut,  indeed !  What  do  you 
mean  by  it?  " 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


JAMES   J.   MC  BRIDE 


1 

J 


OH!  CHRISTINA! 


"Miss  Purvis  gave  her  twelve-year-old  niece 
a  frown  of  disapproval." 


OH!   CHRISTINA! 


BY 

J.  J.  BELL 

4 

Author  of  "  Whither  Thou  Goest,' 
"  Wee  Macgreegor,"  etc. 


New  York        Chicago        Toronto 

Fleming    H.   Revell    Company 

London         and         Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago :  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto  :  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London  :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :    100   Princes   Street 


(oOC  - 


TO 

MY  SISTERS 
SUSIE   AND    SARA 


712489 


^b 


CONTENTS 

I.  The  Incorrigible 

II.  The  Geography  Lesson 

III.  A  Zealous  Apprentice 

IV.  In  Full  Charge 
V.  "  With  Baldyin's  Regairds  " 

VI.  A  Doctor's  Assistant 

VII.  The  Grammar  Lesson 

VIII.  The  Inventory 

IX.  The  Cheap  Sale 

X.  "  Ower    Auld    for    True    Love  " 

XI.  The  Gum  That  Stuck 

XII.  "  Backward     in      Coming     For 

ward  "  .... 

XIII.  The  Magic  Potion 

XIV.  The  Compact 

XV.  The  Moonlight  Cruise 

XVI.  Miss  Purvis's  Romance 


PAGE 

9 
19 
26 
36 
44 
54 
65 
72 
79 
86 
96 

106 
117 
128 
138 
149 


pspuSS"1*" 


"  Ye  cau  send  twa  dizzen  assortit.  .  .  .  Them 
wi'  the  big  green  jools." 


OH!   CHRISTINA! 


THE  INCORRIGIBLE 

FROM  behind  the  counter,  with  its  little 
piles  of  periodicals  and  trays  of  picture 
postcards,  Miss  Purvis  gave  her  twelve- 
year-old  niece  a  frown  of  disapproval. 

"  Have  you  delivered  the  extra  papers  at  the 
manse,  Christina?  "  She  spoke  as  severely  as 
her  peculiarly  soft  voice  would  allow  her. 

"Uh-ha!"  said  Christina,  with  an  almost 
choked  utterance. 

"  Why  didn't  you  tidy  yourself  before  you 
went  to  the  manse?" 

"  I  forgot." 

Miss  Purvis  sighed.  "  I  hope  Mrs.  Beaton 
didn't  see  you  in  such  a  state?  "  she  said. 

"  Ay,  she  seen  me,"  mumbled  the  girl,  smil- 
ing. 

"  Oh,  dear  me !  "  Miss  Purvis  made  a  gesture 
of  despair.  "  And  I'm  sure  I've  told  you  a 
hundred  times  not  to  say  seen  when  you  mean 
saw.  Try  to  remember  that  in  future,  Chris- 
tina." 

"Uh-ha!" 


10  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Don't  say  uh-ha!  What  have  you  got  in 
your  mouth?  " 

"  Jujubes." 

"  Jujubes !    More  than  one  jujube?  " 

"  Uh-ha ! " 

"  Wh — where  did  you  get  jujubes?  " 

"  Frae  Mistress  Beaton." 

"  And  you  put  them  all  in  your  mouth  at 
once?  "  Miss  Purvis  asked  in  a  tone  of  disgust. 

"  I  jist  got  five  frae  her.  ...  Ye  canna  taste 
yin  *  jujube  proper.  Is  the  tea  no'  ready  yet?  " 
Christina's  speech  gained  in  freedom  and  clar- 
ity as  the  jujubes  dissolved. 

"  There  will  be  no  tea,"  said  Miss  Purvis 
firmly,  "  for  a  girl  with  dirty  hands  and  untidy 
hair." 

"  A'  richt,  auntie.  I'll  toshf  masel'  up  in  twa 
shakes,"  said  Christina  cheerfully,  and  passed 
through  the  glazed  and  curtained  door  at  the 
back  of  the  shop. 

Miss  Purvis  groaned  as  she  adjusted  the  wick 
of  the  lamp  burning  above  the  counter.  Chris- 
tina was  certainly  a  heavy  trial  to  the  gentle — 
and  very  genteel — middle-aged  spinster.  Or- 
phaned and  quite  unprovided  for,  Christina  had 
been  brought  from  Glasgow  six  months  ago,  and 
ever  since  then  her  benefactress  had  been  en- 
deavouring to  improve  her  manners  in  general, 
and  her  grammar  and  mode  of  speech  in  par- 
ticular. Too  frequently  she  had  been  driven  to 
despair  by  the  girl's  lack  of  response  to  her 
*  Yin=one.  f  Tosh  «/=tidy  up. 


THE  INCORRIGIBLE  11 

efforts.  Miss  Purvis,  tbough  compelled  by  cir- 
cumstances to  earn  a  modest  living  in  a  west 
coast  village,  belonged  to  Edinburgh,  a  fact 
which  she  never  forgot.  "  Manners  first  and 
money  afterwards "  might  have  been  her 
motto. 

Miss  Purvis  was  still  under  forty,  of  medium 
height,  very  slender  and  rather  prim.  But  for 
her  primness  she  might  have  been  deemed  at- 
tractive. Most  of  the  villagers  were  inclined  to 
regard  her  as  "  stuck-up  " — the  last  thing  she 
had  any  intention  of  being,  desiring  only  to  be 
lady-like,  which  was  a  natural  enough  desire, 
seeing  that  she  was  a  lady  at  heart. 

She  drew  her  chair  near  to  the  counter,  and 
bent  over  the  latest  number  of  The  Hearth-rug 
Novelist,  which  every  week,  for  the  sum  of  one 
penny,  gives  its  readers  a  work  of  fiction, 
"  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  average  novel 
sold  at  six  shillings  " ;  a  page  of  "  Housekeep- 
ing Hints  " ;  two  pages  of  advice  to  worried  lov- 
ers ;  a  paper  pattern  of  a  baby's  garment,  and  a 
chance  of  winning  almost  anything  from  a  20 
h.p.  motor-car  to  a  xylonite  thimble. 

She  resumed  her  reading  at  the  point  where 
Christina's  entrance  had  interrupted  her — the 
point  at  which  the  bold,  black-bearded,  Bulga- 
rian baron  was  assuring  the  lovely  young  Eng- 
lish heiress,  whom  he  had  abducted  and  lodged 
in  his  ancient  castle,  that  he  would  soon  tame 
her  haughty  spirit. 

But  somehow  the  baron  was  much  less  ter- 


12  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

rifying,  the  heiress  much  less  pathetic,  than 
Miss  Purvis  had  found  them  ten  minutes 
earlier.  Miss  Purvis  was  depressed;  she  was, 
moreover,  suffering  from  a  slight  headache. 

Passing  her  hand  over  her  brow,  from  which 
the  brown  hair  was  drawn  tightly  back,  she  re- 
flected, as  she  had  done  every  other  day  for 
many  years,  that  she  did  not  take  sufficient  ex- 
ercise. Her  reflection  was  probably  not  unrea- 
sonable, considering  that  she  rarely  went  out  of 
doors  except  to  church  on  Sundays.  For  a  long 
time  she  had  been  intending  to  follow  the  in- 
structions given  in  a  ladies'  magazine,  wherein 
a  young  woman  was  depicted  in  many  unusual 
attitudes,  each  of  which  was  stated  to  be  help- 
ful to  some  part  of  the  human  frame  and  to  the 
system  generally.  But  as  yet  Miss  Purvis 
had  been  unable  to  bring  herself  to  lie,  kicking, 
on  the  floor,  or  to  stand  on  one  foot,  swinging 
the  other,  for  five  minutes.  She  had  a  horror 
of  looking  ridiculous,  even  in  private,  and  the 
only  exercise  which  she  felt  she  could  carry  out 
with  dignity  was  one  specially  prescribed  for  a 
person  possessing  a  double  chin,  which  Miss 
Purvis  had  not. 

"  Want  of  exercise  and,  perhaps,  want  of  ex- 
citement," she  sighed  to  herself,  or  rather  to  the 
Bulgarian  baron,  whose  dissipated  but  noble 
countenance  stared  at  her  from  the  page  before 
her. 

During  the  last  three  years  Miss  Purvis  had 
experienced  but  two  incidents  which  might  be 


THE  INCORRIGIBLE  13 

truly  called  exciting.  Once  her  kitchen  chimney 
had  gone  on  fire;  once  she  had  fallen  from  the 
fourth  step  of  the  shop  ladder  along  with  a 
package  containing  a  dozen  doll's  tea-sets.  So 
far  Christina's  company  had  meant  a  good  deal 
of  anxiety  and  some  irritation,  but  it  had  pro- 
duced no  episodes  which  could  be  described  as 
stirring  in  the  mildest  meaning  of  the  word. 

"  Yes,"  thought  the  spinster,  absently  dab- 
bing at  the  baron  with  the  rusty  pen  she  had 
picked  up,  "  I  do  believe  it's  excitement,  even 
more  than  exercise,  that  I  require." 

"  Here,  auntie ! "  called  Christina  from  the 
door  of  the  back  room. 

Miss  Purvis  started.  "  What  is  wrong?  "  she 
called  in  reply,  half-rising. 

"  Naethin'.    Am  I  to  wash  ma  face?  " 

"  Certainly." 

"  It's  no'  dirty." 

"  The  face  should  always  be  washed  before 
meals,"  said  Miss  Purvis  primly.  Once  upon  a 
time  she  had  dreamed  of  being  a  schoolmistress. 

"  I  think  it  needs  washin'  mair  efter  meals," 
remarked  Christina,  combing  her  abundant  fair 
hair  in  the  doorway. 

"  Wash  your  face  at  once ! "  cried  Miss  Pur- 
vis, trying  to  speak  sternly. 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  Christina  replied  lightly,  and 
disappeared. 

"  Christina!" 

The  girl  returned  to  the  doorway.  "  What's 
up?"  she  asked  pleasantly. 


14  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"What  did  you  say  when  I  told  you  to  wash 
your  face  at  once  ?  "  her  aunt  demanded. 

"  Hooch,  ay !  " 

"  Well,  don't  let  me  hear  you  using  these 
words  again,  Christina." 

"  They're  in  a  comic  song,  auntie." 

"  Well,  you  must  not  repeat  them.  They 
aren't  nice  words  for  a  girl  to  use.  I  forbid 
you  to  repeat  them." 

"Whatwey?" 

"  Because  I  forbid  you." 

"  A'  richt.  Keep  yer  hair  on,  auntie."  The 
girl  turned  away,  laughing. 

"  Christina !  " 

"Hullo?" 

"  What — what  do  you  mean  by  such  impu- 
dence?" cried  Miss  Purvis,  now  really  in- 
dignant. 

"  I  didna  mean  for  to  be  impiddent.  I  jist 
meant " 

"Where  do  you  learn  such  expressions?" 

"  At  the  schule.    I  jist  meant " 

"  Go  and  wash  vour  face  at  once !  " 

Miss  Purvis,  with  a  hopeless  sigh,  bent  once 
more  over  her  novelette. 

"  A'  richt,"  said  her  niece,  as  cheerfully  as 
ever,  and  banged  the  door  behind  her.  It  did 
not  catch,  however,  and  presently  Miss  Purvis 
heard  the  sound  of  running  water,  to  which 
soon  was  added  a  shrill  whistling. 

"  Christina ! " 

"Hullo?" 


THE  INCORRIGIBLE  15 

"Stop  that  whistling!" 

"  Hooch,  ay ! — I  mean,  a'  richt !  " 

A  couple  of  minutes  went  past. 

"  Christina ! " 

"Hullo?" 

"Have  you  finished  washing?" 

"  Uh-ha *!  " 

"Turn  off  the  water,  and  don't  say  uli-ha!" 

"  Hooch— a'  richt !  " 

The  sound  of  water  ceased,  and  for  a  little 
while  silence  reigned  in  the  back  room. 

Then  Christina  began  to  sing. 

Miss  Purvis  put  a  finger  in  each  ear  and 
sought  to  concentrate  her  thoughts  on  the  con- 
versation of  the  swarthy  baron  and  his  fair 
prisoner.  It  was  past  the  usual  hour  for  tea, 
and  Miss  Purvis  was  wearying  for  a  cup,  but 
she  had  not  the  energy  required  for  its  prepara- 
tion. 

"  Wretch!"  she  read,  "you  have  decoyed  me 
here  under  false  pretences.  But  your  triumph 
shall  be  short-lived.  Last  night  my  secret  mes- 
sage would  oe  in  the  hands  of  the  British  am- 
bassador, and  already  I  hear  the  sound  of " 

At  this  point  it  was  necessary  to  turn  the 
page,  and  Miss  Purvis  unplugged  one  of  her 
ears.    Whereupon  she  clearly  heard — 

"  Stop  yer  ticklin',  ticklin',  tieklin', 
Stop  yer  ticklin',  Jock  !  " 

"  Christina !  " 
"Hullo?" 


16  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Don't  sing  that  dreadful  song !  " 

"  A'  richt." 

But  the  girl  was  not  long  silent.  Stunned 
with  horror,  the  aunt  listened  to  the  follow- 
ing— 

"  Fause  Maggie  Jordan  I    She's  made  ma  life  a  burden  ! 
I'm  no'  fit  to  leeve,  an'  I'm  gey  sweirt  *  to  dee. 
She's  left  me  a'  forlorrun  !  I  wish  I'd  ne'er  been  borrun, 

Since  fause  Maggie  Jordan's  gaed  an'  jiltit  me  ! — 
Tarara  /—" 

"  Oh,  Christina,  Christina !  "  cried  Miss  Pur- 
vis, finding  speech  at  last ;  "  where  did  you 
learn  such  songs?" 

"  In  Glesca,  auntie.  A  laddie  learnt  them  to 
me.    I  ken  a  lot  mair." 

"  Oh,  but  you  mustn't  sing  them !  You  must 
try  to  forget  them." 

"Hoo  that?" 

"  Because — because  I  say  so.  Don't  you  un- 
derstand that  it's  wrong  for  a  girl  to  know 
such  songs?"  Miss  Purvis  nearly  went  on  to 
remark  on  her  niece's  up-bringing,  but  she 
managed  to  stop  her  tongue  in  time.  Thus  far 
she  had  never  uttered  a  single  reflection  on  the 
girl's  parents  and  the  Glasgow  aunt,  who  had 
afterwards  made  but  a  doubtful  guardian,  but 
often  she  had  been  shocked  by  the  indications 
of  their  neglect. 

"  Promise  me,  Christina,"  she  said  solemnly, 
"  never  to  sing  such  songs  again." 

"  Hooch,  ay !    I  promise." 

*  Stceirt=unwi]]iag. 


THE  INCORRIGIBLE  17 

Miss  Purvis  let  the  forbidden  expression  of 
assent  pass  as  a  customer  came  into  the 
shop. 

"  Fine  nicht,"  said  the  customer.  "  I  was 
wantin'  a  leed  pincil." 

"  Yes,"  she  returned,  producing  a  box. 

"  What's  the  price  o'  thur  yins?  " 

"  Ha'pennies  each." 

"  Aw ! "  The  customer,  an  elderly  man, 
picked  out  a  pencil  and  examined  it  minutely 
under  the  lamp.  "  Ye  can  get  three  o'  thur  for  a 
penny  in  the  toon,"  he  observed  after  much  de- 
liberation. 

"Can  you?"  said  Miss  Purvis,  a  little 
wearily.  "  I'm  afraid  I  couldn't  afford  to  give 
more  than  two.    They  are  good  pencils." 

The  man  submitted  the  pencil  to  another 
long  and  searching  examination.  Then  he  laid 
it  down  and  turned  to  the  door. 

"  Aweel,  I'll  think  ower  it,"  he  said.  "  Guid 
nicht." 

A  young  woman  came  in  and  purchased  a 
"  Park  Lane  Cabinet  of  Choice  Stationery," 
price  threepence,  after  inspecting  every  vari- 
ety of  notepaper  in  the  shop. 

"  Is  these  the  only  kinds  ye've  got?"  she  re- 
marked again  and  again. 

"  I'll  see  if  there's  nothing  else,"  returned  the 
spinster,  and  ascended  and  descended  the  shop 
ladder  till  she  was  slightly  giddy. 

When  the  young  woman  had  departed,  Miss 
Purvis   sat   down,   placed   her  elbows   on   the 


18  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

counter  and  her  head  in  her  hands.  If  she  could 
only  rouse  herself  to  make  the  tea ! 

"  Hey,  auntie !  " 

Christina  was  standing  in  the  doorway,  her 
face  shining,  her  hair  in  order,  her  eyes 
dancing. 

Miss  Purvis  sat  up.  She  tried  to  smile  her 
approval,  but  it  was  a  very  wan  smile. 

Then,  suddenly,  there  was  wafted  towards  her 
a  whiff  of  that  delicious  odour  which  comes 
from  bread  just  toasted,  or  being  toasted. 

"  Christina !  "  she  exclaimed,  getting  up. 

"  I  hear  ye." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  you've  been  so  clever 
as  to  make  the  tea." 

"Uh-ha!" 

"  Oh,  I  never  was  so  glad  in  my  life ! "  cried 
the  spinster.    "  It  was  real  good  of  you,  dear." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  said  Christina,  highly  pleased 
with  herself. 


II 

THE   GEOGRAPHY  LESSON 


W 


rHAT  for  are  ye  greetin',  auntie  ?    Is 
it  an  awfu'  sad  story  ye're  at  ?  " 
Miss  Purvis  looked  up  from  the 
novelette,  and  wiped  her  eyes  hurriedly  and  in 
a  somewhat  shamefaced  manner. 

"  I — I  fear  I've  got  a  cold  in  my  head,  Chris- 
tina," she  said  apologetically,  unable  to  meet 
her  niece's  keen  gaze.  "  A  cold  in  my  head  al- 
ways makes  my  eyes  water,  you  know,"  she 
went  on.  "  But  don't  trouble  about  me,  Chris- 
tina. Get  on  with  your  lessons,  like  a  good 
girl." 

"  A  cauld  in  the  heid  should  mak'  ye  sneeze. 
Yer  nose  is  a  wee  thing  rid,  but  that's  wi' 
greetin',  auntie.  I've  been  watchin'  the  tears 
comin'  oot  yer  e'en  an'  playin'  pap  on  the  paper. 
What's  the  story  aboot?" 

"  I  have  already  told  you  to  get  on  with  your 
lessons,  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  with 
sundry  sniffs. 

"  Hooch,  ay !  But  are  ye  no'  gaun  to  tell  us 
what  ye  was  greetin'  aboot?" 

"  Certainly  not.  You  are  much  too  young  to 
understand  anything  about  the  tragedies  of  life, 
my  dear."    Miss  Purvis's  voice  became  soft. 

19 


20  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Och,  I've  read  dizzens  o'  tliae  wee  stories," 
said  Christina.  "  An'  I've  been  gey  near 
greetin'  masel'  whiles.  Are  ye  jist  at  the  second 
last  chapter,  auntie?  Ay,  that'll  be  whaur  ye 
are." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  Miss  Purvis  re- 
garded with  surprise  her  niece,  who  was  seated 
too  far  away  to  have  read  the  small  type  of  the 
novelette. 

"  I  jist  guessed.  The  second  last  chapter's 
aye  a  bit  sad,"  said  Christina.  "  But  it  a'  comes 
oot  in  the  wash  in  the  last  chapter,"  she  added 
cheerfully.  "  It's  a  peety  ye  canna  keep  mind 
o'  that  at  the  sad  bits.    Eh,  auntie?" 

Miss  Purvis  smiled  slightly.  "  I'm  afraid  the 
stories  would  not  be  so  interesting  if  we  always 
remembered  that,"  she  said. 

Christina  did  not  speak  for  fully  a  minute. 
Her  expression  was  thoughtful. 

"  Auntie ! " 

"Yes,  dear?" 

"  I  suppose  ye  like  the  love-stories  the  best?  " 

"  Oh,  well "  Miss  Purvis  hesitated.  "  Most 

of  the  stories  I  read  now  are  what  one  might 
call  love-stories.  But  I  used  to  read  other 
books  a  great  deal— Carlyle,  and  Ruskin, 
and " 

"Was  they  murder  stories?" 

"  Dear  me,  no !  What  an  idea !  They  weren't 
stories  at  all.  They  were— well,  some  day  you 
must  read  them,  too,  or  perhaps  I  shall  read 
them  to  you.     They  are  very  inspiring." 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  LESSON         21 

"Are  they?  I  think  I  like  love-stories  the 
best,  tae,"  said  Christina.  "  My !  it's  fine  when 
ye  come  to  a  rale  love3r-dovey  bit  whaur  the 
young  man  proposes " 

"  Really,  Christina !  I  cannot  allow  you  to 
talk  of  such  things " 


"  But  it's  awfu'  when  the  young  leddy  says 
she  canna  except  him,  because  she's  got  to 
mairry  anither  man  for  his  gold !  There  some 
unco  bad  folk  in  the  stories  whiles — oh,  terrible 
bad  folk,  an'  that  crool !  D'tye  never  feel  ye  wud 
like  to  knock  the  faces  aff  the  bad  yins, 
auntie?  " 

"  I  think  I  had  better  hear  you  repeat  some  of 
your  lessons  now,"  said  Miss  Purvis.  "  What 
about  your  history  and  geography?" 

"  Aw,  there's  nae  hurry  for  them.  D'ye  no' 
feel  ye  wud  like  to  knock " 

"  That  was  a  dreadful  thing  to  say.  Do  not 
repeat  it,  Christina." 

"  But  d'ye  no'  get  angry  at  the  bad  yins, 
auntie?  " 

"  Of  course,"  Miss  Purvis  replied,  rather 
firmly,  "  I  am  bound  to  feel  indignant  with 
those  characters  who  are  responsible  for  the 
sufferings  of  the  good  people  in  the  story.  But 
we  should  not  allow  the  desire  for  cruel  venge- 
ance to  animate  our " 

"  Och,  I  believe  ye  wud  knock  the  stuff- 
in'  oot  the  bad  yins,  if  ye  got  the  chance, 
auntie ! " 

"  Hush,  Christina !    You  must  not  use  such 


22  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

language.  Try  to  remember  that  it  is  un- 
maidenly,  and  that  it  hurts  me." 

"  I'll  try,"  said  Christina  agreeably.  "  I  say, 
auntie,  did  ye  ever  see  onybody  proposin'  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed !    Give  me  your  geography." 

Christina  unwillingly  handed  over  the  slim 
volume,  and  a  short  silence  ensued,  during 
which  the  aunt  found  the  place. 

"  Now,  Christina,  where  is  Liverpool  situated, 
and  for  what  is  it  noted  ?  " 

"  We  had  that  last  week,"  said  Christina. 
"  Ye're  at  the  wrang  page.  My !  I  wud  like  fine 
to  see  a  proposal.  Me  an'  Jessie  Ann  M'Kirdy 
followed  Miss  Carvey  an'  a  young  gentleman 
for  three  mile  on  Sunday  efternune,  awa' 
through  the  woods,  thinkin'  he  was  gaun  to 
propose,  but " 

"  Christina ! "  Miss  Purvis  exclaimed  in  a 
horrified  voice.  "  What  a  shocking  thing  to 
do!" 

"  But  he  didna  propose." 

"  I  mean  that  it  was  shocking  of  you  to  spy 
upon  people.    You  must  never  do  it  again." 

"  But  I  bet  Jessie  Ann  a  farden's  worth  o' 
slim-jim  he  wud  propose  next  Sunday.  We've 
been  keepin'  an  e'e  on  them  for  a  while  back. 
He's  been  comin'  wi'  the  efternune  boat  every 
Seturday  since  the  New  Year,  an'  last  Setur- 
day  he  was  that  gled  to  see  her  that  he  fell  ower 
a  herrin'-boax  on  the  pier  an'  smashed  his  guid 
bumberstick.  An'  then  he  tried  to  let  on  he  was 
used  to  daein'  that  every  day,  an'  then  he  gi'ed 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  LESSON         23 

the  pierman  a  glove  instead  o'  a  penny,  an' 
then " 

"  That  will  do,  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis 
severely.  "  I  am  shocked  and  grieved  at  your 
want  of  delicacy.  But  I  may  tell  you  that  the 
young  gentleman  has  been  betrothed  to  Miss 
Carvey  since  Christmas." 

"  D'ye  mean  engaged  ?  " 

"  I  do." 

"  Weel,  that's  an'  awfu'  drap,"  said  Christina 
sadly.  "  I  suppose  Jessie  Ann'll  ha'e  to  get  the 
slim-jim." 

"  Are  you  in  the  habit  of  laying  wagers  with 
Jessie  Ann  M'Kirdy?  "  The  voice  of  Miss  Pur- 
vis was  then  nearer  to  being  "  awful "  than  it 
had  ever  been,  to  Christina's  ears,  at  least. 

"  Layin'  what  ?  "  the  girl  stammered. 

"  You  spoke  just  now  of  a  bet " 

"  Oh,  that's  what  ye  mean."  Christina  hesi- 
tated. 

"  Answer  me  truthfully,  Christina.  Are  you 
in  the  habit  of  betting  with  Jessie  Ann?" 

"  Whiles,"  replied  Christina,  at  last,  with  an 
effort.  "  But  "—her  face  cleared  a  little—"  I 
never  lost  till  this  time,  auntie." 

Miss  Purvis  shook  her  head  in  a  helpless 
fashion. 

"  Child,"  she  said  solemnly,  "  don't  you  un- 
derstand that  it's  wrong  to  bet,  whether  you 
win  or  lose?  " 

"  I'll  no'  dae't  again,  auntie,"  said  Christina 
in  a  whisper. 


24  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  You  promise  ?  " 

"  Uh-ha." 

"  And  you  will  never  seek  to  spy  on  people?  " 

"  I — I'll  no'  dae't  again.  But,  auntie — it — it 
wudna  be  wrang  to  see  a  proposal  by — by  acci- 
dent— eh  ?    Supposin'  I  couldna  help  seein' " 

"  You  would  shut  your  eyes,  if  you  could  not 
turn  your  back.    Now,  wouldn't  you,  my  dear?  " 

Christina's  better  nature  won — with  a  strug- 
gle.   "  Uh-ha,"  she  muttered. 

Whereupon  Miss  Purvis  came  over  and  kissed 
her,  and  promised  her  a  whole  pennyworth  of 
slim-jim  to  divide  with  her  fellow-sinner. 

"  Maybe,"  said  Christina  reflectively,  "  I 
wudna  like  a  real  proposal  as  well  as  yin  in  a 
book.    D'ye  think  it  wud  be  as  nice,  auntie?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  could  not  say,  dear,"  her  aunt 
replied,  as  she  reseated  herself  and  opened  the 
geography  book.  "  But  now  you  must  put  all 
those  ideas  out  of  your  head,  Christina,  and 
keep  them  out  for  years  to  come.  When  you 
want  a  story  to  read  come  to  me  for  it.  Don't 
just  read  anything  you  happen  to  find  on  the 
counter.  You  will  have  plenty  of  time  for  all 
that  later.    And  now — where  is  Bristol?  " 

"  On  the  map.  I  markit  it  wi'  ma  pincil.  If 
ye  turn  back  a  page " 

"But  whereabouts  in  England  is  it?" 

"  Aw,  ask  me  anither !  "  said  Christina. 

It  was  not  the  geography  lesson  that  kept 
Christina  lying  awake  that  night  half-an-hour 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  LESSON         25 

longer  than  usual.  Mr.  Baldwin  had  called  that 
day,  and  she  had  seen  him  during  the  dinner 
hour. 

"  He's  an  awfu'  nice  man,"  she  thought  in 
the  silence  and  darkness,  "  an'  I  think  he's  saft 
on  auntie.  I  wonder  if  she's  saft  on  him.  Oh, 
I  wonder !  But  she  wudna  talk  about  love  when 
I  tried  to  get  her  to  talk  about  it.  My!  It's 
peculiar! " 


Ill 

A  ZEALOUS  APPKENTICE 

ON  Friday  nights  Christina  went  to  bed 
with  her  hair  in  a  score  of  tight,  thin 
pigtails,  and  on  Saturday  mornings  she 
paid  especial  attention  to  her  toilet  generally; 
for  on  Saturdays  Miss  Purvis  allowed  her  to 
stand  behind  the  counter,  and  even  to  serve 
those  customers  who  desired  such  simple  wares 
as  newspapers  and  pins.  Miss  Purvis  hoped 
that  her  niece  might  thus  learn  something  of  the 
stationery  and  fancy-goods  trade,  while  Chris- 
tina, a  few  months  after  her  first  appearance 
in  the  shop,  was  privately  of  the  opinion  that 
she  could  have  run  the  business  a  great  deal  bet- 
ter than  her  aunt. 

Christina  chafed  in  secret  at  not  being  per- 
mitted to  attend  to  any  customer,  irrespective 
of  his  or  her  requirements.  She  felt  that  there 
were  many  occasions  when  Miss  Purvis  failed 
to  effect  a  sale  through  sheer  lack  of  repartee — 
though,  of  course,  that  word  was  not  in  Chris- 
tina's vocabulary.  But  the  word  "  gab  "  was, 
and  the  girl's  inward  remark  was  frequently 
to  this  effect — 

"  If  she  gi'ed  them  mair  gab  they  wud  buy 


mair." 


26 


A  ZEALOUS  APPRENTICE  27 

But  Miss  Purvis  was  too  genteel  and  dignified 
to  chaff  or  persuade  customers. 

"  I  endeavour  to  stock  the  best  of  everything, 
and  I  can  do  no  more/'  she  said  on  one  occasion, 
when  a  lady  had  refused  to  pay  fourpence  for  a 
hair-net  because  she  had  seen  them  advertised 
somewhere  or  other  at  seven  for  a  shilling. 

"  But  ye  should  ha'e  tell't  her  the  chape  yins 
was  rotten  rubbidge,"  said  Christina. 

"  Were,"  Miss  Purvis  gently  replied.  "  And 
the  word  rotten  is  not  a  nice  one.  Old  wood 
might  sometimes  be  correctly  described  as  rot- 
ten  " 

"  An'  whiles  aiples  an'  plooms  an'  ither  frit," 
Christina  put  in.     "  I  yinst  got  a " 

"  Hush !  "  Miss  Purvis  shuddered. 

"Weel,  ye  should  ha'e  tell't  the  leddy  the 
chape  yins  was " 

"  The  lady  should  have  known  that  for  her- 
self." 

"  If  I  was  you,  auntie,  I  wud  keep  naethin' 
but  chape  rubbidge — an'  sell  it  dear  when  I  got 
the  chance.    Ay,  wud  I !  " 

"  That  will  do,  Christina.  You  know  quite 
well  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy." 

Christina  smiled.  "  I  suppose  ye  mean  that 
cheatery  '11  choke  ye,"  she  said. 

"  That  will  do,  Christina." 

"  I  dinna  believe  it.  I've  seen  plenty  cheatery, 
but  I  never  seen  it  choke  onybody,"  pursued 
Christina.  "  I  never  seen  onybody  chokit  but  a 
baby,  an'  it  was  a  bit  ham  that  done  it,  an'  the 


28  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

baby  was  ower  wee — it  wasna  a  year  auld — for 
to  cheat  onvbodv." 

Miss  Purvis  could  not  refrain  from  pointing 
out  that  tender  infants  did  not  get  ham. 

"  They  dae  in  Glesca.    I've  seen  babies  gettin' 


wulks  *  ;  ay,  an' " 

Christina  could  not  understand  why  at  this 
point  her  aunt  suddenly  embraced  her,  and  in  a 
husky  voice  called  her  "  a  poor  neglected 
child." 

On  a  certain  chilly  Saturday  forenoon  in 
January  aunt  and  niece  were  at  their  posts  be- 
hind the  counter.  Miss  Purvis  sat  beside  the 
till,  crocheting.  Christina  was  adding  to  the 
lustre  of  the  stock  of  hatpins;  she  breathed 
loudly  on  each  massive  "  gem,"  and  then  po- 
lished it  with  a  handful  of  tissue  paper.  She 
liked  handling  the  hatpins  better  than  anything 
in  the  shop.  Their  richness  appealed  to  her. 
Once  Miss  Purvis  had  come  in  from  Sunday 
evening  service  to  behold  her  niece,  who  had  a 
cold,  strutting  before  the  small  mirror  with 
every  pin  in  the  shop  thrust  through  her  plain 
straw  hat. 

But  Christina's  thoughts  on  this  forenoon 
were  not  confined  to  the  glittering  vanities.  She 
had  done  a  good  stroke  of  business  earlier  in 
the  day,  and  she  still  brooded  upon  it  with  ex- 
quisite satisfaction.  It  was  a  secret  which  she 
would  not  have  shared,  even  with  her  aunt. 

Just  as  the  morning  boat  was  taking  the  pier 
*  Walks -Whilks. 


A  ZEALOUS  APPRENTICE  29 

a  gentleman — a  stranger  to  Christina — had 
rushed  into  the  shop,  thrown  down  a  penny,  and 
gasped  for  a  morning  paper.  The  morning  pa- 
pers had  been  sold  out,  but  Christina,  with  a 
bright  smile,  handed  him  a  copy  of  the  previous 
day's  issue.  Through  the  window  she  had 
watched  him  staggering  down  the  pier  with  a 
heavy  bag,  and  had  felt  proud  and  happy  ever 
since. 

"  That's  the  wey  to  keep  a  shope,"  she  tol'd 
herself.  "  Mavbe  he  didna  get  readin'  vester- 
day's  paper,"  she  added,  and  felt  quite  virtuous. 

There  had  been  a  long  lull  in  the  forenoon's 
business — not  an  unusual  happening — but  at 
last  there  were  signs  that  a  customer  was  at 
hand.  The  door-handle,  which  was  rather  loose, 
rattled  warningly  and  a  face  was  pressed 
against  the  semi-opaque  glass.  Then  the  door 
opened  a  couple  of  inches  and  remained  in  that 
position.  A  sound  of  whispering  reached  the 
ears  of  Miss  Purvis  and  Christina,  both  of 
whom  were  now  standing  at  attention. 

At  the  end  of  a  minute  the  door  closed,  and 
a  coin  was  heard  to  drop  on  the  doorstep.  The 
ring  of  metal  was  followed  by  a  shuffling  of  feet. 
Then  a  silence,  during  which  two  faces  were 
pressed  against  the  glass. 

Once  more  the  door  was  opened,  this  time  suf- 
ficiently wide  to  admit  a  little  boy,  of  four 
years  of  age,  whose  fat  countenance  was  exceed- 
ing solemn.  The  little  boy  was  followed  by  his 
sister,  a  little  girl,  of  seven  or  so,  whose  expres- 


30  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

sion  was  no  less  serious.  Very  gravely  they  ad- 
vanced towards  the  counter.  Christina  knew 
them  quite  well,  but  pretended  she  had  never 
seen  them  before. 

The  little  girl,  fixing  a  cold  eye  on  Miss  Pur- 
vis and  jerking  her  head  sideways  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  little  boy,  said — 

"  He's  wantin'  to  buy  something." 

"  And  what  does  he  want  to  buy,  my  dear?  " 
Miss  Purvis  asked  pleasantly. 

"  He  doesna  ken,"  said  the  little  girl. 

"  Ay,  I  ken ! "  said  the  little  boy  in  a  voice 
hoarse  with  excitement  or  indignation — per- 
haps both. 

"  Weel,  what  dae  ye  want  to  buy?  " 

"  A  penny  thing." 

Miss  Purvis  turned  to  the  little  boy.  "  Is 
it  a  toy  you  wish  to  buy?"  she  inquired 
kindly. 

The  little  boy  gaped,  and  his  sister  replied — 

"  He  wudna  tell  me,  but  I  suppose  it's  a  toy. 
It's  a  toy  ye're  wantin',  Jimsie?  " 

Jimsie  shook  his  head  violently. 

"  Come  on,  noo,  Jimsie,  tell  us  what  ye're 
wantin'  to  buy,"  his  sister  said  persuasively. 
"  Come  on,  tell  us !  " 

"  A  scooter,"  said  the  boy  in  a  low  voice. 

"  But  ye  canna  get  a  scooter.  Maw  said  ye 
wasna  to  get  a  scooter,  an'  ye  promised  ye 
wudna  ask  for  yin." 

"  But  I  want  yin." 

The  little  girl  turned  from  him  impatiently. 


A  ZEALOUS  APPRENTICE  31 

"  Ha'e  ye  ony  scooters  ?  "  she  demanded,  with  a 
warning  wink  at  Miss  Purvis. 

Miss  Purvis  looked  blank. 

"  She  means  things  for  sookin'  in  watter  an' 
scootin'  it  oot  again,"  put  in  Christina;  adding, 
"  we  dinna  keep  them." 

"No;  I  don't  keep  them,  my  dear,"  said  Miss 
Purvis. 

"  There,  ye  see,  Jimsie !  "  the  little  girl  cried 
triumphantly.  "  She  doesna  keep  scooters,  so 
ye  canna  get  yin." 

Whereupon  Jimsie  sobbed  freely  till  the 
penny  slipped  from  his  clutch,  and  he  forgot  his 
grief  in  searching  for  it. 

"  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  "  bring  for- 
ward some  toys.  Perhaps  James  will  see  some- 
thing he  fancies." 

"  I  canna  see  onything,"  complained  Jimsie, 
whose  nose  was  touching  the  edge  of  the 
counter. 

Promptly  his  sister  seized  him  in  her  arms, 
and  bundled  him  upon  a  chair  standing  against 
the  counter,  on  which  Christina  had  just  laid  a 
small  tin  boat  on  wheels  and  a  monkey  on  a 
stick. 

"  Bring  a  lot  of  toys,"  whispered  Miss  Purvis. 

"  If  I  bring  a  lot,  he'll  no'  ken  what  to 
choose,"  muttered  her  niece. 

"Do  as  I  tell  you,  Christina!" 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  said  Christina  resignedly,  and 
brought  a  dozen  different  articles. 

Jimsie  began  to  play  with  the  monkey  on  the 


32  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

stick.    Christina  watched  the  monkey  going  up 
and  down  till  she  could  bear  it  no  longer. 

"  Are  ye  gaun  to  buy  it,  Jiinsie  ?  "  she  asked 
sharply. 

"  Hush,  Christina !  "  said  her  aunt. 

"  It's  nane  o'  your  business,  Teeny,"  said  the 
little  girl,  putting  out  her  tongue. 

Christina  ignored  her.  "  If  ye  spile  the  works, 
ye'll  ha'e  to  buy  it!  "  she  said  to  the  little  boy. 

"  Hush,  Christina !  " 

The  little  boy  laid  down  the  monkey,  and 
Christina  snatched  it  from  the  counter. 

"  He'll  maybe  buy  it  yet,"  said  Jimsie's  sis- 
ster.  "  He  aye  tak's  a  whiley  to  mak'  up  his 
mind.  See,  Jimsie!  Here  an'  awfu'  nice  wee 
boat " 

"  It  winna  sail,"  the  boy  objected. 

"  But  it'll  hurl.*  Wud  ye  no'  like  a  watch  an' 
chain  ?  Eh  ?  Weel,  here  a  wee  motor-caur.  Is 
that  no'  nate,  Jimsie?  I'm  shair  ye  wud  like  it 
fine.  Ye  wud  like  the  trumpet?  Blaw  it, 
Jimsie.    It's  fine  an'  lood." 

Jimsie  blew  it  till  he  was  breathless. 

"  If  he  blaws  it  again,  he'll  ha'e  to  buy  it," 
said  Christina  in  a  loud  whisper. 

"  Hush,  Christina !  " 

After  further  consideration,  Jimsie  decided 
against  the  trumpet.  Christina  removed  it  from 
the  counter  and  scrutinized  it  to  see  if  he  had 
bitten  the  mouth-piece. 

"  Weel,  Jimsie,"  the  little  girl  inquired,  "  if 
ye're  no'  for  the  trumpet,  what  are  ye  for?  " 
*  Hurl=ride  (vehicle). 


A  ZEALOUS  APPRENTICE  33 

"  I  dinna  ken,"  replied  Jimsie,  as  he  picked 
up  a  toy  in  each  hand. 

"  I  tell't  ye,  auntie ! "  Christina  muttered. 
"  He  canna  chose  his  pick  wi'  sae  mony 
things." 

"  Hush,  Christina !  " 

"Oh,  hush-a-baw-baby ! "  said  Christina 
crossly. 

At  the  end  of  twenty  minutes  the  little  boy 
slid  from  his  chair,  and,  drawing  down  his  sis- 
ter's shoulder,  whispered  earnestly  in  her  ear. 

"Ye  should  ha'e  said  that  afore,"  said  his 
sister,  without,  however,  any  displeasure.  In 
fact,  she  smiled  a  little  smile  of  satisfaction. 

She  turned  to  Miss  Purvis  and  calmly  said — 

"  He  wants  to  buy  sweeties  wi'  his  penny." 

Then,  taking  hands,  the  twain  moved  to  the 
door. 

A  moment  later  Christina  had  whipped  round 
the  counter,  and  was  at  the  door  ere  they  could 
close  it.    The  children  fled. 

"  Christina,  where  are  you  going?  " 

Without  answering,  Christina  ran  out. 

In  a  few  minutes  she  reappeared,  smiling 
cheerfully,  and  gently  pushing  the  children  be- 
fore her. 

"  He's  gaun  to  buy  the  monkey,"  she  an- 
nounced to  her  aunt.  At  the  same  time  she 
took  the  monkey  from  the  far-end  of  the  coun- 
ter, where  she  had  left  it,  and  handed  it  to 
Jimsie,  receiving  his  penny  in  exchange. 


34  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

She  then  guided  the  silent  children,  who  had 
rather  a  dazed  look,  to  the  door,  and  saw  them 
safely  outside. 

"  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  on  recovering 
from  her  amazement,  "  what  did  you  say  to 
those  children  ?  " 

"  Never  heed,"  returned  Christina,  spinning 
the  warm  penny  on  the  counter. 

"  You  must  tell  me." 

"  Oh,  weel,  I  jist  tell't  them  I  wud  gi'e  them 
the  nick " 

"The  what?" 

"  The  polis — ye  ken  awfu'  little,  auntie." 

"  The  police !  "  Miss  Purvis  exclaimed,  ig- 
noring the  depreciatory  remark.  "  What 
for?" 

"  For  pretendin'  they  was  gaun  to  buy,  an' 
no'  buyin'.  So  they  was  feart,  an'  cam'  back 
an'  bocht  the  monkey.  There  ye  are!  That's 
the  second  penny — that's  a  penny  I've  saved  ye 
the  day.    What's  ado?" 

"  Oh,  Christina,  Christina !  I'm  vexed  with 
you ! " 

"Hoothat?" 

Miss  Purvis  drew  herself  up.  She  pointed  to 
the  penny  on  the  counter. 

"  That's  your  Saturday  penny,  Christina " 

"  Thenk  ye,  auntie." 

"  You  will  run  after  the  children  at  once, 
give  them  that  penny,  and  tell  them  to  buy 
sweets  with  it — from  yourself." 

"  No'  likely !  " 


A  ZEALOUS  APPRENTICE  35 

"Then  I  must  do  so  myself,"  said  Miss 
Purvis. 

There  was  a  silence. 

"  Aweel,"  said  the  girl  slowly.  "  I'll  gang." 
She  went  round  to  the  door.  "  What'll  I  dae  if 
he's  broke  the  monkey  ?  " 

"  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  monkey. 
I  expect  you'll  find  the  little  boy  crying  because 
of  your  cruelty." 

Christina's  expression  softened.  "  I  didna 
mean  for  to  be  crool,"  she  said.  "  I— I'll  gi'e 
him  ma  penny." 

She  went  out,  and  closed  the  door  behind 
her.    Then  she  opened  it  a  few  inches. 

"  A'  the  same,"  she  said,  more  in  sorrow  than 
in  anger,  "  ye  dinna  ken  hoo  to  keep  a  shope, 
auntie." 


IV 
IN  FULL  CHARGE 

WHEN  the  doctor  had  gone  Miss  Pur- 
vis, who  was  lying  on  the  shabby  old 
sofa  in  the  living-room,  turned  to  her 
niece,  and,  with  a  groan  of  despair,  said — 

"  This  is  a  dreadful  predicament,  Christina. 
I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  is  to  be  done.     It 
will  be  three  days  at  least  before  I  can  stand." 
"  Och,  never  you  heed,  auntie,"  said  Chris- 
tina kindly  and  reassuringly.     "  I'll  luk  efter 

ye." 

"Yes,  dear;  but  who's  to  look  after  the 
shop?" 

"  I'll  manage  that  fine,"  said  Christina 
promptly,  unable  to  repress  a  snigger  of  satis- 
faction. 

Miss  Purvis  did  not  know  what  to  say;  she 
shrank  from  hurting  the  girl's  feelings.  So 
she  groaned  again. 

"  Is  yer  fit  hurtin'  ye,  auntie?" 

"  Not  now.  The  doctor  has  made  it  much 
easier  with  the  bandages.  But  nothing  could 
have  been  more  unfortunate  than  a  sprained 
ankle." 

"  It  wud  ha'e  been  mair  unfortunate  if  ye 
had  broke  yer  neck.    I've  been  expectin'  ye  to 

36 


IN  FULL  CHARGE  37 

hurt  yersel'  for  a  while  back."  Christina  spoke 
almost  severely.  "  Ye're  no'  soople  enough  for 
sclimin'  ladders.  Ye  should  let  me  dae  that. 
But  it  was  a  guid  thing  ye  fell  afore  ye  got  the 
haud  o'  the  gum  bottles.  A  dizzen  o'  gum  wud 
ha'e  made  an  awfu'  mess " 

"  And  I  might  have  been  severely  wounded," 
said  Miss  Purvis. 

"  So  ye  might.  I  never  thocht  o'  that.  'Deed, 
ye've  a  heap  to  be  thankfu'  for — ha'e  ye 
no'?" 

Miss  Purvis  smiled  in  spite  of  her  mental  and 
physical  discomfort.  "  You're  an  extraordinary 
girl,  Christina !  " 

"Hoo  that?" 

"  I  think,"  said  her  aunt,  evading  the  ques- 
tion, "  I  think  you  may  shut  the  front  door  now. 
It  was  certainly  fortunate  that  my  accident  oc- 
curred when  business  was  over  for  the  day. 
When  you  have  shut  the  door,  bring  me  the 
account-file  and  the  cash-box.  Mr.  Baldwin  will 
be  calling  to-morrow,  and  I  must  have  his 
money  ready  for  you  to  pay  to  him." 

"  Could  Baldyin  no'  come  ben  an'  see  ye  here, 
auntie?  " 

"  Certainly  not ! "  cried  Miss  Purvis, 
flushing. 

"What  wey  that?" 

"  Oh,  you  don't  understand,  Christina.  It 
would  be  most  improper.  And — er — his  name 
is  Mr.  Baldicin." 

"  Ay,  I  ken.     But  I  canna  help  ca'in'  him 


38  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Baldyin,  for  he  is  a  bald  yin."  Christina 
laughed  heartily. 

"  That  will  do,  Christina,"  said  her  aunt  re- 
provingly. "  Go  at  once  and  shut  the  door. 
Then  I  shall  instruct  you  regarding  to-morrow. 
I  do  hope  you  will  be  careful  and  discreet." 

"  Hooch,  ay ! "  Christina  replied,  and  left 
Miss  Purvis  full  of  forebodings,  which  forebod- 
ings did  not  decrease  during  the  watches  of  the 
night. 

Christina  was  up  betimes.  First  she  ran 
down  to  the  pier  to  receive  the  parcel  of  morn- 
ing papers  from  the  early  boat.  Then  she  de- 
livered copies  at  certain  houses.  Then  she  re- 
turned to  the  shop,  which  she  had  locked  up 
behind  her,  opened  it,  and  arranged  the  remain- 
ing papers  on  the  counter.  Then  she  made 
breakfast,  after  which  she  assisted  her  aunt  to 
dress. 

"  Well,  dear,"  Miss  Purvis  gratefully  re- 
marked, "  if  you  end  the  day  as  well  as  you 
have  begun  it,  I'm  sure  I'll  be  very  proud  of 
you." 

"  Oh,  dinna  fash  yersel',  auntie.  I'll  no'  gi'e 
onything  awa'  for  naethin'." 

"  But  I  trust  you  will  be  circumspect  and 
discreet.  Some  customers,  you  know,  are  very 
easily  offended;  all  customers  must  be  treated 
respectfully.    You  promise  to  be  careful?" 

Christina  nodded  her  head  vigorously. 

"  And  try  to  speak  nicely,"  continued  Miss 


IN  FULL  CHARGE  39 

Purvis.  "  Now  here  is  Mr.  Baldwin's  account 
and  the  money  to  pay  it " 

"  Ony  discoont?  " 

"  No ;  Mr.  Baldwin's  firm  does  not  allow  dis- 
count." 

"  We'll  ha'e  to  see  about  that !  " 

"  Christina !    You  promised  to  be  discreet." 

"  A'  richt,"  said  Christina,  not  satisfied,  how- 
ever. 

"  And  here,"  went  on  Miss  Purvis,  "  is  a  list 
of  goods  to  be  ordered  from  Mr.  Baldwin.  You 
may  read  it  over." 

The  girl  read  it  over,  frowning. 

"  If  I  was  you,"  she  said  at  last,  "  I  wudna 
get  ony  mair  o'  thae  penny  whustles.  They're 
no'  in  the  noo.  An'  cheeny  dolls  is  oot,  tae. 
An'  ye've  forgot  to  pit  doon  peevers,*  an' " 

"  I  haven't  sold  a  peever  for  years,"  Miss 
Purvis  interrupted. 

"  Ye  canna  expect  to  sell  onything  if  ye  dinna 
keep  it.  Get  a  dizzen  o'  peevers,  an'  I'll  shin  f 
get  the  lassies  to  buy  them.  I'm  a  dab  at  the 
peever,  and  I'll  set  the  fashion.  But  I  wudna 
get  ony  mair  cheeny  dolls  nor " 

Miss  Purvis  snatched  away  the  list,  and  cried 
irritably,  "  If  you  can't  promise  to  do  exactly 
as  you  are  told,  Christina,  I  shan't  allow  you  be- 
hind the  counter  again.  I'll  simply  shut  the 
shop  until  I  am  better." 

"  Ye  canna  shut  the  shope  frae  whaur  ye  are," 
Christina  calmly  returned,  "  unless  ye  hap'  a' 
*  P<?ever=:  Implement  used  in  hop-scotch,     f  8hin=:sooix. 


40  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

the  road  to  the  door  on  the  yin  fit — an'  I'll  no' 
let  ye,  auntie.  A'  the  same,  ye  should  order 
the  peevers." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  spinster,  somewhat 
mollified.    "  You  may  order  a  dozen." 

Christina  beamed  her  satisfaction. 

Up  till  eleven  o'clock  Christina's  only  cus- 
tomers were  for  newspapers.  To  several  of 
them  she  endeavoured  to  sell  other  things,  but 
without  success. 

Then  a  woman  came  in  to  get  some  wool 
matched. 

"  Hoo's  yer  auntie,  the  day?  I  heard  she  had 
gotten  a  fa'." 

"  Ay ;  she's  gey  bad,  but  it  micht  ha'e  been 
waur  if  she  had  got  the  baud  o'  the  gum." 

"The  what?" 

Christina  explained,  after  which  they  came 
to  business.  The  girl  turned  out  all  the  wool 
she  could  find. 

"  Ah,  ye  canna  match  it,"  said  the  woman  at 
last,  in  disgust. 

"  But  this  yin's  awfu'  near  it,"  pleaded  Chris- 
tina. 

"Near  it?  Ye're  blin',  lassie!"  And  the 
customer  departed. 

"  Christina !  "  called  Miss  Purvis. 

Christina  attended  the  summons,  looking 
cross. 

"Who  was  in  just  now?"  inquired  Miss 
Purvis. 


IN  FULL  CHARGE  41 

"  Mistress  M'Cabe.  She  wantit  some  worstit 
matched,  but  hers  was  ower  ugly." 

"  I  hope  you  didn't  tell  her  that,  Christina?  " 
Miss  Purvis  looked  anxious. 

"  I  wisht  I  had !  "  The  girl  went  back  to  the 
shop,  banging  the  door  behind  her. 

"  Christina ! " 

Christina  retraced  her  steps. 

"What's  up?" 

"  You  must  leave  the  door  open,  so  that  I  can 
hear  what  is  going  on." 

Christina,  very  grudgingly,  left  the  door 
open  a  few  inches,  and  hurried  behind  the 
counter. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Beaton  had  just  entered  the 
shop. 

He  had  started  to  inquire,  in  his  usual  genial 
tones,  for  the  invalid,  when  Christina,  holding 
up  a  warning  finger,  whispered,  "Sh!"  and 
glanced  meaningly  at  the  door  of  the  living- 
room. 

"  Ah !  "  said  the  minister,  lowering  his  voice. 
"  Having  a  rest.  Well,  you  must  tell  her  I 
called  to  inquire  for  her.    I'll  call  again  later 


on." 


"  Naethin'  else  the  day,  sir?" 

"  Oh  yes,  by  the  bye,  I  want  some  sealing- 


wax." 


Highly  delighted,  Christina  procured  a  stick 
and  laid  it  on  the  counter.  "  Ony thing  else,  sir? 
Pens,  ink,  blottin'-paper,  sermon-paper,  enve- 
lopes  "     She  tried  to  think  of  other  arti- 


42  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

cles  in  keeping  with  a  minister.  "  Christian 
Weekly " 

"  Nothing  else,  thank  you,"  said  Mr.  Beaton, 
smiling  and  laying  down  a  sixpence. 

Christina  wrapped  up  the  wax  and  handed 
it  to  him,  with  threepence  of  change. 

"Sealing-wax  gone  up  in  price?"  he  asked, 
looking  at  the  coppers.  "  Miss  Purvis  used  to 
charge  me  just  twopence." 

Only  for  a  moment  was  she  disconcerted. 

"  Thruppence  is  the  price,"  she  solemnly  whis- 
pered. "  It  wud  be  a  deid  loss  at  tuppence, 
sir.  But  I've  catched  her  afore  gi'ein'  things 
chape  to  folk  she  thocht  a  lot  o\" 

The  minister  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  He  was 
afraid  his  laugh  might  waken  the  invalid. 

"  Christina ! " 

"Hullo?" 

"Who  was  that?" 

"  The  meenister,  speirin'  for  ye.  He's  comin' 
back  again.  Whisht !  I  see  Baldyin  comin'  aff 
the  boat.  .  .  .  He's  comin'  aff  the  pier  noo !  .  .  . 
Noo  he's  speakin'  to  the  piermaster.  He's  lukin' 
at  the  shope.  I  think  the  piermaster's  tellin' 
him  aboot  ye  fa'in'  aff  the  ladder.  He's  lukin' 
vexed.  .  .  .  Here  he  comes ! " 

But  Mr.  Baldwin  did  not  come  to  the  shop 
just  then.  After  halting  and  gazing  reflectively 
at  the  ground  for  nearly  a  minute,  he  turned  to 
the  left  and  went  off  in  that  direction. 

"  Here,  auntie,  Baldyin's  no'  comin'  efter  a'  ! 


IN  FULL  CHARGE  43 

He's  awa'  the  Kinlochan  road.  Wull  I  rin  oot 
an'  cry  on  him  to  come  back?  " 

"Certainly  not,  Christina!" 

"  But  what  aboot  the  peevers?  I  think  I  bet- 
ter scoot  efter  him.     Eh?  " 

"  Come  here,  Christina !  "  her  aunt  called 
sternlv. 

The  girl  obeyed  slowly.  "  I  doot  ye've  lost 
him  noo,"  she  said,  eyeing  Miss  Purvis  with 
reproach.  "  What  wey  did  ye  no'  let  me  scoot 
efter  him?  " 

"  Because  it  would  be  impertinent  and  fool- 
ish. Mr.  Baldwin  knows  his  business.  He  will 
doubtless  return  here  when  he  finds  it  conve- 
nient." 

"  If  he  doesna  come  back,  wull  ye  write  for 
the  peevers,  auntie  ?  " 

"Can  you  think  of  nothing  but  peevers?" 
Miss  Purvis  cried  quite  crossly. 

Christina  regarded  her  aunt  inquiringly  for 
several  seconds.  Then  she  smiled,  and  put  the 
kettle  on  to  boil. 


"  WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  " 

CHRISTINA  had  just  set  a  cup  of  tea  and 
a  slice  of  hot  buttered  toast  within  easy 
reach  of  her  aunt,  when  she  heard  the 
shop-door  open. 

Peeping  through  the  curtain  she  saw  a  pleas- 
ant-featured gentleman,  tall,  clean-shaven,  and 
rosy,  approaching  the  counter. 

"  Baldyin,"  she  whispered  to  her  aunt.  Then, 
opening  the  glazed  door  a  few  inches,  she  called, 
in  her  most  business-like  voice — 

"  Tak'  a  sate,  please.  I'll  see  ye  in  twa 
shakes !  " 

"  Oh,  Christina,"  murmured  the  helpless  Miss 
Purvis,  "  do  try  to  speak  with  more  refinement." 

"Oh,  Jamaica!"  said  Christina,  rushing  to 
the  sink  and  turning  on  the  water.  "  Ma 
fingers  is  a'  creesh." 

Miss  Purvis  shuddered.  "  Christina,"  she  be- 
gan in  a  low,  pleading  voice,  "  you  will  remem- 
ber to  be  discreet,  won't  vou?  Mr.  Baldwin  is 
a  gentleman " 

"  He  is  that,"  said  Christina  cordially.  "  He 
gi'ed  me  a  saxpence  when  he  was  here  afore  the 
New  Year,  ye  mind." 

"  Yes.    But  he  is  more  than  kind ;  he  is  very 

44 


"WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  "     45 

refined.  Try  not  to  be  rude  or  impertinent.  I 
should  not  like  hiru  to  be  offended  in  my 
shop." 

"  Oh,  dinna  fash  yersel',  auntie,"  said  the 
girl,  hurriedly  drying  her  hands.  "  Him  an' 
me'll  get  on  fine " 

"  He  and  I,  Christina.  I  wonder  if  you  will 
ever  learn  your  grammar." 

"  Maybe  I  wull — when  I'm  as  auld  as  you, 
auntie.  Noo,  jist  you  tak'  yer  tea  and  toast, 
an'  dinna  get  into  a  stew.  If  the  doctor  comes 
when  I'm  engaged  at  the  coonter,  I'll  jist  send 
him  in  to  ye."    Christina  turned  to  the  door. 

"  Christina ! " 

"  I  hear  ye." 

"  Leave  the  door  open." 

"  Ye'll  get  cauld  in  yer  fit.  There's  an  awfu' 
draught  the  day." 

"  My  foot  is  well  covered." 

"  Weel,  ye'll  get  it  in  yer  heid." 

"  Do  as  I  tell  you,  Christina." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  Onything  for  peace !  "  Chris- 
tina departed,  leaving  the  door  open  a  couple  of 
inches. 

Miss  Purvis  strained  her  ears,  but  heard  very 
little  of  the  conversation  at  the  counter,  for 
Christina,  on  emerging  from  the  living-room, 
had  repeated  the  signal  which  she  had  found 
effective  in  the  case  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beaton. 

"  She's  to  be  kep'  quate,"  she  said  softly 
across  the  counter. 

"  I  was  exceedingly  sorry  to  hear,  from  the 


46  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

piermaster,  of  the  accident,"  returned  Mr. 
Baldwin,  also  softly. 

"  Ay,  I  seen  ye.  Awf  u'  cauld  weather — eh  ? 
Hoo's  tred  wi'  ye?  "  she  went  on  pleasantly. 
"  Uh-ha !  I  daursay  ye'll  be  a  bit  slack  efter 
the  Christmas  rush.  Weel,  I  was  to  pay  ye  yer 
account.  Here  it  is.  Three  pound  seventeen 
an'  nine." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mr.  Baldwin,  repressing  a 
smile. 

Christina  laid  the  account  before  him,  dipped 
a  pen  deep  in  the  inkpot,  and  handed  it  to  him. 
Having  inked  her  fingers,  she  pretended  to  be 
looking  for  something  on  the  floor  while  she 
wiped  them  on  her  stocking. 

Then  she  laid  on  the  counter  three  soiled 
notes,  a  half-sovereign,  and  two  half-crowns. 

"What's  the  discoont?"  she  inquired  in  a 
careless  tone  of  voice. 

"  I'm  afraid  there  isn't  any  discount,"  he  re- 
plied, smiling. 

"  That's  peculiar,"  said  Christina,  using  a 
word  to  which  she  had  recently  taken  a  violent 
fancy. 

"  Oh,  no,  it's  quite  usual,"  returned  the 
amused  traveller.  "  Miss  Purvis  never  expects 
discount." 

"  It  wud  gi'e  her  a  nice  surprise."  She  added 
a  shilling  to  the  money  already  on  the  counter. 
"There,  noo!  That'll  leave  a  shillin'  an'  nine- 
pence  for  discoont.     Eh?" 

Mr.   Baldwin  shook  his  shiny  head.     "  I'm 


"WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  "     47 

afraid  I  can't  afford  that,"  he  said,  as  he  affixed 
a  stamp  to  the  account. 

Unwillingly  Christina  produced  another  shil- 
ling. "  The  ninepence  '11  no'  kill  ye,"  she  re- 
marked, with  a  bright,  encouraging  smile. 

He  hesitated.  "  Well,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I'll 
let  it  go  this  time,  but  please  do  not  ask  for  it 
again.  You  see,  we  sell  our  goods  so  cheaply 
that  we  really  can't  afford  to  allow  any  deduc- 
tions." He  receipted  the  account  and  handed 
it  to  her. 

"  Much  obleeged  to  ye,"  she  said  politely. 
"  Noo,  I've  got  an  order  for  ye,  Maister  Bald- 
win." 

"  That's  good !  I  didn't  think  Miss  Purvis 
would  have  been  able  to  attend  to  anything." 

"  Aweel,  ye  see,  she  had  me.  I  ken  a  guid  bit 
aboot  the  business." 

"  So  I  have  learned,"  said  Mr.  Baldwin,  strok- 
ing his  chin. 

"  But  I'll  ha'e  a  squint  at  yer  samples  first, 
if  ye  please.  Oh,  jist  baud  on  a  meenute. 
Here's  the  doctor  comin'." 

The  doctor  entered  the  shop,  and  Christina 
gave  him  a  friendly  nod.  "  Jist  gang  furrit,"  * 
she  said. 

He  disappeared  into  the  back-room,  and,  to 
the  girl's  satisfaction,  shut  the  door  behind 
him. 

She  turned  once  more  to  Mr.  Baldwin,  who 
was  obligingly  unstrapping  a  square  leather 
case. 

*  Furrit— forward. 


48  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"Ha'e  ye  ony  peevers  wi'  ye?"  she 
asked. 

"  Not  with  me.  But,  of  course,  we  can  sup- 
ply them." 

"Could  ye  manage  a  dizzen?" 

"  We  would  do  our  best." 

"  White  marble  yins?  " 

"  Yes.     Penny  peevers,  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Uh-ha.     What's  the  price  a  dizzen?" 

"  Eightpence." 

"My!  that's  peculiar!" 

"  Best  we  can  do,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Baldwin 
quite  gravely. 

"  Weel,  I'll  risk  a  dizzen.  See  an'  send  the 
best."  Christina  referred  to  her  list.  "  Ha'e 
ye  a  sample  o'  jumpin'-jakes?  " 

"  Jumping-jacks?  I  believe  I  have.  .  .  . 
Yes,  here  we  are !  " 

"  Work  it,  please." 

Mr.  Baldwin  worked  it,  while  Christina  re- 
garded the  operation  with  a  critical  eye.  Then 
she  held  out  her  hand  for  it,  and  examined  it 
minutely. 

"Could  ye  send  three  o'  thur?" 

"  Certainly.  We  can  make  you  up  a  dozen 
of  assorted  toys,  including  the  jumping-jacks. 
But  could  you  not  do  with  six?  " 

Christina  shook  her  head.  "  There's  jist  the 
three  new  babies  in  Kilmabeg  the  noo.  Auntie 
was  for  orderin'  hauf-a-dizzen,  but  I  chekit  her. 
Weel,  what  else  ha'e  ye  got  ?  " 

Mr.  Baldwin  laid  an  array  of  toys  and  fancy 


"WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  "     49 

goods  on  the  counter.    Christina  again  referred 
to  her  list. 

"  Ye've  nae  burls  *  there,"  she  said,  looking 
up.  "  I  was  wantin'  hauf-a-dozen,  but  they 
wud  need  to  be  better  nor  the  last  lot.  The 
last  lot  o'  burls  wasna  up  to  the  mark." 

"  Indeed,  I'm  sorry  to  hear  that.  What  was 
like  the  matter?  " 

"  The  pea  was  aye  stickin'.  We  had  a  heap 
o'  complaints." 

"  I'll  see  what  can  be  done." 

"  An'  ye  can  send  three  penny  motor-caurs. 
They're  fashionable  the  noo.  That'll  mak'  the 
dizzen." 

"Thank  you.     Any  dolls?" 

"  Dolls !  Na,  na.  We're  chock-a-block  wi' 
dolls  the  noo.  The  cheeny  yins  ha'e  been  a 
failure.  But  we  can  dae  wi'  a  dizzen  cahootchy 
ba's.  See  an'  send  guid  yins  that'll  stot  f 
weel." 

"This  size?"  inquired  Mr.  Baldwin. 

"  Ay,  that  size,  but  no'  that  sort.  It's  plain 
yins  I  want.  The  pentit  yins  is  ower  dear, 
excep'  when  the  gentry's  here  in  the  simmer. 
What  dae  ye  ca'  this?  "  She  held  up  one  of  the 
samples. 

"  Oh,  that's  one  of  the  latest  novelties.  It 
is  a  bust  of  the  Prime  Minister  and  pin-cushion 
combined.     To  be  retailed  at  threepence  each." 

"  Och,  that's  nae  use — f aur  ower  dear !  An' 
it's  no  like  a  meenister,  onywey." 

*  Burl = whistle.  \  Stot=hoimce. 


50  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  this  for  a  cheap 
line  in  purses?     Twopence  each,  retail." 

Christina  shook  her  head.  "  If  that  purse 
was  gettin'  damp,  the  cash  wud  fa'  through  it." 

The  traveller  laughed  good-humouredly. 
"Well,  what  about  hatpins?" 

"Uh-ha!  We're  needing  hatpins."  She  con- 
sulted the  list,  on  which  was  marked — "  One 
dozen  assorted  hatpins." 

"  Ye  can  send  twa  dizzen  assortit,"  she  said 
briskly.     "  Them  wi'  the  big  green  jools " 

"Emeralds?" 

"  Aw ;  it's  nae  odds  as  lang  as  they're  green." 
Christina  then  proceeded  to  read,  with  many 
comments,  the  remaining  items  on  her  list. 
She  would  have  liked  very  much  to  have  made 
additional  purchases  from  the  samples  which 
Mr.  Baldwin  continued  to  produce  from  the 
large  case,  but  the  thought  of  Miss  Purvis  re- 
strained her.  "  I'll  get  auntie  to  buy  them 
herseP  the  next  time,"  she  reflected. 

"  Is  there  anything  else  now,  Miss  Chris- 
tina?" the  traveller  asked,  after  he  had  noted 
the  orders. 

"  That's  the  lot,"  she  replied  regretfully. 
"  Mind  an'  send  the  best,"  she  added.  "  Dinna 
send  the  burls  wi'  saft  peas  in  them." 

"  I've  made  a  special  note  about  the  whistles 
and  peas,"  said  Mr.  Baldwin.  He  set  to  work 
to  pack  his  samples. 

The  girl  watched  him.  Presently  she  re- 
marked— 


"WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  "     51 

"  Yer  weans  *  '11  ha'e  fine  fun  wi'  yer  samples 
whiles." 

"I   beg  your  pardon?" 

"  I  was  sayin'  yer  weans  '11  ha'e  fine  fun  wi' 
yer  samples.  I  suppose  they  get  playin'  wi' 
them  when  ye're  in  the  hoose.  What  d'ye  dae 
when  the  weans  breaks  a  sample,  Maister  Bald- 
win?" 

"  My  dear  girl,"  said  the  traveller,  laughing, 
"  you  have  a  wonderful  imagination.  But  I 
happen  to  be  a  bachelor." 

Christina  whistled.  "  That's  peculiar,"  she 
said.     "  But  I  s'pose  it's  cheaper." 

At  this  point  the  doctor  reappeared.  "  I'll 
be  back  shortly,"  he  said  to  Christina. 

"  Is  she  no'  gettin'  better?" 

"  Oh,  yes.  She's  getting  on  nicely.  How  are 
you  getting  on?"  he  inquired  quizzingly. 

"  Champion !  " 

The  doctor  hurried  away. 

Christina  turned  to  Mr.  Baldwin.  "  Him  an' 
me's  rale  pack,"  f  she  observed,  nodding  in  the 
direction  of  the  doctor,  who  was  passing  the 
window.  "  I  yinst  helpit  his  wife  for  a  week 
when  the  servant  was  lyin'  badly.  He  used  to 
let  me  wash  his  bottles,  an'  yinst  I  heard  him 
pullin'  a  man's  tooth.  My!  thon's  an'  excitin' 
hoose  to  bide  in !     I  mind " 

Mr.  Baldwin  had  finished  his  packing. 

"  I'm  afraid  I  must  go,  Miss  Christina.  The 
steamer  is  about  due,  I  think,"  he  said. 
*  Wean— child.  f  Pac£=Friendly. 


52  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Thank  you  very  much  for  attending  to  me. 
I  hope  your  aunt  will  soon  be  well.  She  is 
fortunate  in  having  so  capable  an  assistant." 
And  he  bowed. 

Christina's  countenance  beamed  with  delight. 

"  I'm  maybe  no'  sae  green  as  I'm  cabbage- 
lookin',"  she  murmured  modestlv. 

Mr.  Baldwin  laughed  and  held  out  his  hand, 
which  the  girl  shook  warmly. 

Then  the  traveller  lifted  from  the  floor  an 
unsymmetrical  newspaper-covered  parcel,  which 
Christina  had  not  hitherto  observed.  He  laid 
it  before  her. 

"  This  is  a  fowl — a  chicken,"  he  said,  a  little 
awkwardly.  "  The  people  at  the  farm  along 
the  road  assured  me  it  was  a  nice  one.  Would 
you  mind  handing  it  to  Miss  Purvis — with  my 
compliments  and  best  wishes  for  a  speedy  re- 
covery? Good-bye."  He  grasped  his  sample 
case,  put  on  his  hat,  and  made  for  the 
door. 

"  Hey ! "  cried  Christina,  as  he  was  disap- 
pearing.   "  Here  a  meenute !  " 

With  the  door-handle  in  his  fingers  the 
traveller  looked  round. 

Christina  was  holding  out  a  sixpence  and 
three  pennies. 

"Ye're  awfu'  kind,"  she  said.  "I'll  let  ye 
aff  the  ninepence  discoont." 

But  Mr.  Baldwin,  with  a  hurried,  "No,  no, 
my  dear  child ! "  closed  the  door  and  fled  to- 
wards the  pier. 


"WITH  BALD  YIN'S  REGAIRDS  "    53 

"  Christina !  " 

"  I'm  comin',  auntie." 

A  moment  later  she  entered  the  living-room. 
She  was  trying  to  remember  Mr.  Baldwin's 
message  to  her  aunt,  but  its  exact  words  proved 
too  much  for  her. 

"  Here's  a  poultry,  wi'  Baldwin's  love,"  she 
announced. 

"What?"  shrieked  Miss  Purvis,  crimson. 

"  Weel,  it's  a  hen,  wi'  his  kind  regairds,"  said 
Christina,  removing  the  newspaper. 

Tears  came  into  the  eyes  of  the  spinster. 

"  How  kind ! "  she  sighed.  "  I  hope  you 
thanked  him  nicely,  my  dear,"  she  added. 

"  Hooch,  ay!" 

"  But  every  one  is  so  kind.  Fancy  what  the 
doctor  is  doing  for  me?  "  Miss  Purvis  went  on. 
"  He  has  gone  to  borrow  an  invalid-chair  on 
wheels  from  a  friend,  so  that  I'll  be  able  to  get 
back  to  the  shop  at  once !  And  you'll  get  back 
to  school  to-morrow  morning.  I  expect  him 
every  minute  now.     Isn't  he  kind?  " 

Language  failed  Christina.  Turning  her 
back  on  her  aunt,  she  dropped  the  fowl  upon 
the  floor  and  gave  it  a  savage  kick. 


VI 
A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT 

THE  serving-maid  at  the  doctor's  house 
was  again  laid  up,  and  Christina,  almost 
feverish  with  importance,  was  assisting 
the  doctor's  wife.  In  vain  Miss  Purvis  had 
protested  against  the  girl's  donning  her 
Sunday  clothes;  Christina  had  retorted  that 
she  must  be  dressed  in  her  best,  lest  she  should 
be  called  upon  to  open  the  door  and  show  peo- 
ple into  the  consulting-room,  which,  by  the 
way,  she  called  "  the  wee  room  wi'  the  queer 
smell  an'  the  tooth-pullers." 

During  the  early  part  of  the  day  she  was 
occupied  with  the  dirtier  work  of  the  house, 
which  she  performed  in  an  overall  kindly  sup- 
plied by  her  temporary  mistress.  But  that 
work  done,  the  overall  was  laid  aside,  and 
Christina  admired  herself  in  a  muslin  apron 
belonging  to  the  invalid  maid.  The  maid  being 
tall  of  stature  and  Christina  rather  short,  the 
apron  reached  considerably  beyond  the  hem  of 
the  girl's  skirt;  but  Christina  did  not  mind 
that,  and  only  wished  she  had  a  cap  to  complete 
her  costume.  While  alone  in  the  kitchen  she 
wore  on  her  head  a  paper  bag,  which  had  once 
held  sugar  biscuits,  manipulated  as  nearly  as 

54 


A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT  55 

possible  into  the  semblance  of  a  housemaid's 
cap,  with  strips  of  white  paper,  removed  from 
a  pound  of  bacon,  for  strings. 

"  My !  it's  awfu'  tasty ! "  she  remarked  to 
herself,  eyeing  the  small  looking-glass  near  the 
sink.  She  did  not,  however,  refer  to  the  fla- 
vour of  the  bacon.  It  was  later  that  she  re- 
alized how  much  sugar  had  got  into  her  thick 
fair  hair. 

Nothing  of  an  exciting  nature  happened  dur- 
ing the  forenoon.  Immediately  after  lunch  the 
doctor  went  out  to  pay  some  professional  visits, 
and  Christina  had  just  finished  washing  the 
dishes  when  her  temporary  mistress  came  into 
the  kitchen  dressed  for  out-of-doors.  Christina 
hastily  removed  her  improvised  head-gear. 

"  Well,  Christina,"  the  lady  said  pleasantly, 
"  do  you  think  you  could  keep  the  house  from 
running  away  till  I  return?  I  have  a  call  to 
make  on  a  lady  who  is  leaving  Kilmabeg  to- 
morrow, otherwise  I  would  not  leave  you 
alone." 

Christina  mentally  blessed  the  lady  who 
was  on  the  eve  of  quitting  Kilmabeg.  She 
had  never  hoped  for  such  responsibility  as 
this! 

"  Oh,  I'll  manage  fine,  mem,"  she  replied 
eagerly. 

"  Jane  is  asleep  at  present,"  the  lady  went 
on,  "  but,  if  she  calls,  you  will  attend  to  her. 
She  should  get  her  medicine  at  half-past  two, 
but  only  if  she  is  awake." 


56  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina  mentally  decided  that  Jane  would 
be  awake  at  2.30  sharp. 

"  I  don't  think  I  shall  be  away  longer  than 
an  hour,  Christina.  If  any  one  calls  for  the 
doctor,  you  know  what  to  do  ?  Write  the  name 
and  message  on  the  slate,  and  say  you  will  tell 
the  doctor  immediately  he  comes  home.  I  ex- 
pect he  will  be  back  within  an  hour.  Now, 
take  care  of  yourself  and  the  house,  like  a  good 
girl."  And  with  a  cheerful  nod  the  doctor's 
wife  departed. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !  "  murmured  Christina  in  an 
ecstasy  of  delight  at  being  left  alone.  She 
resumed  her  cap,  held  out  her  apron  by  the 
edges,  and  waltzed  round  the  kitchen  table. 
Halting  at  last,  she  looked  at  the  clock,  the 
hands  of  which  were  at  ten  minutes  past  two. 

"  I  wish  it  was  time  for  Jane  to  get  her 
meddicine!  Oh,  I  hope  a  customer  '11  come 
soon !     I  best  see  if  the  sclate's  clean." 

She  went  into  the  hall  and  examined  the 
white  tablet,  at  the  top  of  which  was  printed  in 
gold  the  word  "  Engagements." 

"  I'll  engage  them !  "  she  said  to  herself,  giv- 
ing the  tablet  an  unnecessary  rub.  "  Oh,  I 
wish  a  customer  would  come ! "  she  sighed. 
"  A  broken  leg  wud  be  fine !  " 

She  strolled  into  the  consulting-room  and 
sniffed  the  iodoform.  She  sank  into  an  easy- 
chair,  remarking,  "  This  is  whaur  he  pulls  the 
teeth." 

Christina  had  a  sense  of  honour  that  re- 


A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT  57 

strained  her  from  opening  any  of  the  presses 
or  little  drawers,  and  presently  she  returned 
to  the  kitchen  where  she  removed  her  cap, 
reflecting  that  it  would  hardly  do  for  a  "  cus- 
tomer "  to  see  her  in  it. 

The  clock  now  indicated  2.20. 

"  Och,  I'll  jist  wauken  her,"  thought  Chris- 
tina. "  I'll  dae  it  by  accident."  And  she 
pushed  a  large  tray  off  the  dresser. 

A  groan  came  from  the  little  room  adjoining 
the  kitchen ;  then  an  exclamation  of  "  Oh, 
mercy,  lassie!     What  ha'e  ye  broke?" 

"  Naethin',"  returned  Christina  reassuringly, 
as  she  entered  the  little  room.  "  I'm  sorry  I 
waukened  ye,  but  ye'll  be  ready  for  yer  med- 
dicine  noo,  Jane." 

"  Oh,  feech !  the  nesty  stuff ! "  cried  Jane. 
"  I  dinna  want  it.  Did  the  mistress  say  I  was 
to  get  it?  Eh?  Aweel,  Teeny,  my  lass,  if  ye 
pour  it  doon  the  jawbox,*  I'll  gi'e  ye  a  penny. 
There  noo !  " 

"  Na,  na,  Jane !  " — Christina's  tone  was  stern 
— "  I  promised  the  mistress  ye  wud  get  it,  an' 
yer  gaun  to  get  it !  Hoo  much  d'ye  get  ?  "  she 
asked,  picking  up  a  bottle  and  spoon  from  the 
dressing-table. 

"  Oh,  jist  a  wee,  wee  drap,  Teeny,"  pleaded 
the  hapless  Jane.  "  Jist  a  teaspunfu'  in  plenty 
o'  watter.  It's  got  an  awfu'  bad  taste.  Oh, 
dear  me,  I'll  never  tak'  service  wi'  a  doctor 
again !  He's  faur  ower  free  wi'  his  doses.  Aw, 
jist  a  wee  teaspunfu',  Teeny." 
*  Jaicbox— sink. 


58  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina,  in  a  firm  voice,  read  aloud  from 
the  label :  "  A  tablespunefu'  in  watter  thrice  a 
day  efter  meals." 

"  Oh,  me !  But  I — I  ha'ena  had  a  meal," 
moaned  Jane,  clutching  at  a  straw. 

"  Ye  had  yer  breakfast.  I  gi'ed  it  masel'." 
And  Christina,  having  measured  out  a  brim- 
ming tablespoonful  of  the  physic,  poured  it 
into  a  tumbler. 

"  I — I'll  gi'e  ye  tippence !  "  cried  Jane. 

Christina  added  water  to  the  medicine. 
"  Ha'e !  "  she  said  briefly.  "  Snap  it  up !  It'll 
dae  ye  guid." 

"  Leave  it  wi'  me,  an'  I'll  tak'  it,  Teeny." 

"  I  believe  ye !  "  said  the  girl,  without  moving. 

Jane  took  the  tumbler,  looked  at  Christina 
in  frantic  appeal,  and  repeated  her  offer  of 
twopence. 

Christina  shook  her  head.  "  Snap  it  up ! " 
she  said  once  more.  "  Shift  it ! "  she  added, 
remembering  a  Glasgow  expression. 

Abandoning  hope,  Jane  gulped  the  dose, 
blindly  handed  the  tumbler  to  the  girl,  and  dis- 
appeared beneath  the  bedclothes,  groaning  fear- 
somely. 

"  That's  the  style !  "  remarked  Christina,  and 
retired  glowing  with  a  sense  of  duty  done.  In 
a  minute,  however,  she  was  back  at  the  bedside 
with  a  heaped  spoonful  of  sugar. 

She  had  scarcely  returned  to  the  kitchen 
when  the  bell  rang.    She  rushed  to  the  glass, 


A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT  59 

inspected  her  face,  pushed  back  her  hair;  then 
walked  sedately  to  the  front  door.  On  open- 
ing it  she  met  with  a  disappointment.  A  mes- 
sage-boy held  out  a  parcel,  grinned,  and  said 
familiarly — 

"  Hullo,  Teeny !  Ye've  got  on  yer  daidley  * 
the  day ! " 

"  Impiddence ! "  muttered  Christina,  grab- 
bing the  parcel  and  banging  the  door.  She 
walked  back  to  the  kitchen  with  her  rather 
pretty  nose  in  the  air.  "  I'll  gi'e  Geordie 
M'Cubbin  something  for  that,  some  day ! "  she 
said  to  herself. 

She  slammed  the  parcel  on  the  table,  and 
realized  that  it  contained  eggs. 

Just  then  the  bell  rang  again.  She  looked 
at  the  parcel,  wondered  how  many  were  broken, 
felt  like  weeping,  swallowed  a  lump,  and — an- 
swered the  bell.  If  it  were  only  a  broken  leg! 
That,  she  reflected,  would  be  worth  several 
broken  eggs,  anyway. 

She  opened  the  door.  A  serving-maid,  a 
stranger  to  Christina,  stood  on  the  step — a  big 
bony  creature,  with  a  somewhat  wild  look. 

"  A  customer ! "  thought  Christina.  "  A 
tooth !  " 

"  Mistress  MacTougal's  compliments,  and  she 
would  pe  opliged  ef  the  toctor  would  pe  pleased 
to  come  to  see  her  to-day,  thank  you  fery 
much." 

Having  emitted  this  declaration,  the  maid 
panted. 

*  Daidley = pinafore. 


60  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"Hielan'?"  said  Christina.     "  Tobermory  ?  " 

"  Styornoway !  "  cried  the  maid.  "  Put  I 
know  Topermory.  Wass  you  efer  in  Styorno- 
way?" 

"  Na.  But  I  was  yinst  at  Gourock.  D'ye 
want  to  see  the  doctor  yerseP?  because  he's  no' 
in,"  said  Christina.  Then  she  remembered  the 
slate,  and,  turning,  secured  it. 

Leaning  negligently  against  the  side  of  the 
doorway,  she  crossed  one  leg  over  the  other, 
and  said  in  a  business-like  voice — 

"  What  did  ye  say  was  the  name  o'  the 
pairty?"     The  maid   looked  bewildered. 

"Wha  sent  ye?"  Christina  demanded. 

"  Mistress  MacTougal ! — I  haf  forgot  the 
name  of  the  house.  I  will  haf  come  to  this 
place  last  night." 

"  Mistress  MacDougall — Och,  I  ken  about 
her.  Seaview's  her  hoose.  Mind  that,  so  as 
ye'll  no'  get  lost.  Is't  her  inside  again?" 
Mrs.  MacDougall  had  a  local  reputation  for 
dyspepsia. 

"  I — I  could  not  saay,"  said  the  Stornoway 
girl.  "  I  think  she  wass  saaying  it  will  pe  her 
asthma.  Yess — I  think  it  will  pe  her  asthma. 
Thank  you  fery  much." 

"  Haud  on  a  shake ! "  said  Christina. 
"That's  peculiar!  It  sounds  like  an  awfu' 
disease." 

On  the  tablet  she  wrote  large 


Mrs.  MacDougal.    Seavue.    Hurassma. 


A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT  61 

Then,  with  her  best  business  smile,  she  turned 
to  the  maid. 

"  Onything  else  the  day,  miss?"  she  sweetly 
inquired. 

Again  the  other  looked  bewildered. 

"  Tits !  "  said  Christina.  "  I  forgot  I  wasna 
in  the  shope."  Somehow  she  felt  sorry  for  the 
maid.  "  Wud  ve  like  to  tak'  a  walk  wi'  me 
some  nicht?  "  she  asked  abruptly,  but  kindly. 

"  Inteed,  inteed  I  would,"  cried  the  Storno- 
way  girl  gratefully.  "  I  wass  all  alone.  I  will 
pe  knowing  nopody  in  this  place." 

Whereupon  Christina  made  an  appointment. 


i 


During  the  interview  she  had  forgotten  about 
the  eggs,   but   on    her   return   to   the   kitchen 

isery  claimed  her  for  its  own.  The  paper 
ag  had  given  way,  and  a  horrid  pool  was 
forming  on  the  table  around  it. 

"  Oh,  what  a  muck ! "  she  sighed  in  despair, 
and  proceeded  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the 
damage.  Out  of  the  dozen,  five  eggs  had 
escaped  uninjured,  five  had  been  cracked  or 
chipped,  and  two  were  hopelessly  smashed. 

Christina  turned  from  the  sorry  sight,  and 
leaning  against  the  dresser,  buried  her  face  in 
her  hands.  She  had  remained  thus  for  five 
minutes  when  she  heard  the  invalid  maid  call- 
ing. 

"  Teeny !     Here !  " 

Christina  dried  her  eyes,  sniffed,  pulled  her- 
self together,  and  went  to  the  door  of  the  maid's 


V 


/ 


62  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

room.  Halting  outside,  she  inquired  whether 
Jane  wanted  anything. 

"Am  I  never  to  get  onything  to  eat?"  Jane 
cried  querulously. 

"Are  ye  hungry,  Jane?" 

"Hungry?  Did  the  mistress  no'  leave  word 
what  I  was  to  get  ?  " 

"  She  didna  say.  Maybe  she  forgot.  Ye 
was  sleepin',  ye  ken.  Wull  I  get  ye  a  piece, 
Jane?" 

"  A  piece?  An'  the  doctor  said  I  was  to  be 
fed  up  and  nourished!  Is  there  nae  soup  in 
the  larder?" 

"  I'll  gang  an'  see,"  said  Christina. 

And  then — oh,  happy  thought ! 

"  Could  ye  no  tak'  an  egg — twa  eggs,  Jane?  " 

"  Could  I  no' !  "  the  other  exclaimed.  "  Twa 
eggs,  poached,  '11  dae  fine.  An'  a  cup  o'  tea! 
Haste  ye,  Teeny !  " 

Christina  hesitated.  "  I — canna  poach  eggs," 
she  stammered.  "But  I — I  can  scramble 
them." 

"  Dae  onything  ye  like,  lassie,  but  dae  it 
quick,"  cried  the  famished  one. 

Christina  skipped  gaily  back  to  the  kitchen. 

"Is  the  doctor  in?" 

An  elderly  gentleman  put  the  question,  not 
long  after  Christina  had  finished  her  cooking. 

"  He's  no'  in  the  noo,"  she  replied,  getting 
the  tablet  and  her  feet  into  position.  "  What's 
the  name,  please  ?  " 


A  DOCTOR'S  ASSISTANT  63 

"  Mr.  Reid,  Burnside  Cottage." 

"  D'ye  spell  yer  name  the  common  way  or 
the  ither  way  ?  " 

"  The  other  way,"  said  the  elderly  gentleman, 
amused. 

"  Noo  ye're  chaffin' !  "  said  Christina  good- 
humouredly.  "  But  it's  nae  odds  to  me  hoo 
ye  spell  it."     And  she  wrote  down  Mr.  Read. 

"An'  what's  the  disease,  if  ye  please,  sir?" 
she  inquired  more  respectfully. 

"  My  good  girl,  are  you  the  doctor's  assist- 
ant?" 

"  Whiles,"  said  Christina,  thinking  of  the 
bottles  she  had  washed.  "  But  maybe,"  she 
went  on,  with  a  keen  glance  at  the  elderly 
gentleman,  "  maybe  ye're  no'  a  customer." 

The  man  smiled.  "  Oh  yes,  I'm  a  customer," 
he  said.  "  I  called  to  see  if  the  doctor  would 
oblige  me  with  a  porous  plaster,  so  you " 

"That's  peculiar!"  she  remarked.  "I  yinst 
had  a  porous  plester  when  I  was  bad  wi'  ma 
kist.*  Is't  yer  kist  that's  hurtin'  ye,  sir?" 
The  inquiry  was  sympathetic.  "  Awfu'  sticky 
thing  a  porous  plester!  Jist  wait  and  I'll 
write  it  doon." 

She  began  to  write,  halted  suddenly,  and 
looked  up  at  him. 

"  Eh — wud  ye  no'  tak'  a  dizzen  when  ye're  at 
it?" 

"  A  dozen !  " 

"  Ay ;  I  daursay  the  doctor  wud  gi'e  ye 
discoont,    if   ye   was    takin'   a   dizzen.     Weel, 

*  Kist= chest. 


64  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

mak'  it  hanf-a-dizzen,  sir.  Awfu'  usefu'  things 
to  ha'e  aboot  the  hoose." 

Here  the  elderly  gentleman  gave  way  to 
laughter. 

Christina  felt  hurt,   and   looked  it. 

"  There's  no'  muckle  wrang  wi'  you,  I'm 
thinkin' !  "  she  muttered  crossly. 

At  this  juncture  the  doctor  appeared  on  the 
scene.     Christina  suddenly  felt  afraid. 

But  Mr.  Reid  turned  to  the  doctor  and  said, 
by  no  means  unkindly,  "  This  young  woman  is 
better  than  any  of  your  tonics,  doctor." 

He  then  nodded  in  friendly  fashion  to  the 
girl,  who,  covered  with  proud  blushes,  fled  to 
the  kitchen,  and  there  waltzed  round  the  table 
until  she  was  giddy. 


VII 
THE  GRAMMAR  LESSON 

I  PRESUME,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  slowly 
and  solemnly,  "  I  presume,  Christina,  that 
you  are  taught  grammar  at  school." 

"Uh-ha,"  said  Christina  lightly,  looking  up 
from  the  latest  number  of  The  Society  Novelist. 

Miss  Purvis  adopted  a  tone  of  voice  which, 
she  understood,  was  quite  withering. 

"  Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  said,  Christina, 
that  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  teach  you 
grammar  at  school." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  returned  Christina  placidly. 
"  Ha'e  ye  read  this  yin,  auntie?"  she  inquired, 
tapping  the  novelette.  "  It's  a  fair  corker. 
It's  about  a  bewtyus  young  leddy  that's  sup- 
posed to  ha'e  gi'ed  her  granny  poison  in  her 
gruel  for  to  get  her  siller  to  gi'e  to  her  young 
man  that's  a  crackt  officer  in  a  dashin'  regiment. 
The  young  man's  in  debt,  ye  see,  an'  she " 

"  That  will  do,  Christina.  How  often  have 
I  told  you  that  you  are  too  young  to  read 
novels?  Give  it  to  me,  and  attend  to  what  I 
say."  Miss  Purvis  held  out  her  hand  for  the 
novelette,  which  her  niece  resigned  with  reluct- 
ance. 

"  Now,"  continued  Miss  Purvis,  "  I  am  going 

65 


66  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

to  give  you  a  lesson  in  grammar.  It  seems  to 
me  that  grammar  is  not  properly  taught  now- 
a-days.  When  I  was  a  girl  at  school  I  got  a 
prize  for  grammar  alone " 

"  They're  no'  sae  free  wi'  the  prizes  noo-a- 
days,"  remarked  Christina. 

Miss  Purvis  rose  with  dignity,  and  from  a 
small  shelf  on  the  wall  took  down  a  slim  vol- 
ume, bound  in  black  cloth  and  rebacked  with 
strips  of  linen. 

"  This,"  she  said,  "  is  my  old  grammar." 

"  I  thocht  it  was  maybe  yer  prize,  auntie," 
said  Christina.     "  Ye've  no'  kep'  it  extra  weel." 

Miss  Purvis  ignored  the  observation.  "  I 
intend  to  give  you  a  short  lesson  from  this  book 
every  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday  even- 
ing  " 

"  Murder,  polis !  "  cried  Christina. 

"  Christina !  Don't  dare  to  use  that  expres- 
sion in  my  presence! " 

"  Weel,  I've  plenty  lessons  already.  An'  I've 
got  my  ain  grammar,"  said  the  girl  protest- 
ingly.     "  Gi'e's  a  chance,  auntie." 

"  My  child,"  returned  the  spinster  more 
gently,  yet  still  firmly,  "  you  must  learn  to 
speak  properly.  It  isn't  your  shocking  expres- 
sions alone  that  grieve  me,  it  is  your  utter  dis- 
regard of  all  the  rules  of  grammar.  You  may 
find  the  lessons  hard  just  now,  but  you  will 
thank  me  some  day." 

"What  d'ye  want  me  to  dae?"  Christina 
asked  in  a  dull  voice. 


THE  GRAMMAR  LESSON  67 

"  I  wish  you  to  attend  to  me.  .  .  .  Now,  we 
shall  begin  at  the  very  beginning."  Miss  Pur- 
vis opened  the  book. 

"  Haud  on  a  meenute,  auntie !  " 

"  Say,  '  Wait  a  minute,  please,'  "  Miss  Purvis 
said  patiently. 

"  Wait  a  meenute,  please,"  the  girl  repeated. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  aunt,  with  grave  polite- 
ness. "  What  do  you  wish  to  say,  Chris- 
tina?" 

Christina  smiled.  "  Did  ye  say  I  was  to 
get  a  lesson  on  Monday,  Wednesday,  an' 
Friday?" 

"  Yes,  dear." 

"  Aweel,  this  is  Thursday ! "  Christina's 
tone  was  triumphant. 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  recovering 
herself.  "  But  we  may  as  well  make  a  beginning 
to-night,  and  perhaps  miss  a  lesson  some  night 
later  on.  Now,  pay  attention,  Christina.  .  .  . 
The  first  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  learn  what 
grammar  is.     What  is  grammar?" 

"  Dear  knows,"  Christina  gloomily  replied. 

"  Christina ! " 

"  Ach,  weel,  I  dinna  ken,  an'  I'm  no'  heedin'," 
Christina  said,  with  some  irritation. 

"  I  ask  you  once  more — what  is  grammar?" 
Miss  Purvis  spoke  as  sternly  as  she  could. 
"  What  is  grammar  ?  " 

The  girl  picked  up  the  poker,  and  began  to 
toy  with  it. 

"  Put  down  the  poker  at  once,  Christina !  " 


68  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina  dropped  it  clattering  on  the  fender. 

"  Pick  it  up  and  lay  it  down  quietly,"  said 
Miss  Purvis. 

Christina  picked  it  up  and  laid  it  down  with 
a  single  bang. 

"  I  said  quietly,  Christina." 

"  I  heard  ye." 

There  was  a  long  silence. 

At  last  Christina  picked  up  the  poker  again, 
and  laid  it  down  without  a  sound. 

"  Onything  for  peace,"  she  muttered.  Then, 
catching  sight  of  her  aunt's  countenance,  which 
was  more  sad  than  angry,  she  repented.  "  Tell 
us  what  grammar  is,  auntie,"  she  said  respect- 
fully. 

The  simple  soul  of  Miss  Purvis  was  at  once 
touched  and  gratified. 

"  I'll  tell  you  with  pleasure,  my  dear,"  she 
said  kindly.  "  And,  Christina,  you  must  not 
think  that  I  am  going  to  give  you  lessons  just 
to  give  you  trouble.  It  is  for  your  own  good. 
Don't  you  believe  that?  " 

"  Uh-ha,"  said  Christina  awkwardly.  "  I  ken 
ye  mean  week" 

Miss  Purvis  nodded  cheerfully,  and  lifted  the 
battered  book  from  her  lap. 

"  Now  for  our  definition  of  grammar,  Chris- 
tina !  Grammar,"  she  began,  opening  the  book, 
"  Grammar  is " 

It  was  most  unfortunate  that  the  first  page 
of  the  grammar  was  missing.  Miss  Purvis 
flushed  hotly  as  she  suddenly  remembered  tear- 


THE  GRAMMAR  LESSON  69 

ing  it  out  to  enwrap  a  piece  of  toffee  given  her 
by  a  classmate.  How  far  off  her  school-days 
had  seemed — until  this  moment! 

"  Grammar,  Christina,"  she  resumed  feebly, 
"  Grammar  is " 

Not  for  the  life  of  her  could  she  recollect  the 
definition  which  she  had  once  learned  from  the 
now  missing  page. 

Christina  regarded  her  with  sympathetic  con- 
cern. "  Dinna  fash  yerseP,"  she  said,  at  last, 
softly.  "  It's  nae  odds  to  me.  I'm  no'  heedin'. 
Grammar's  jist  grammar,  an'  that's  a'  aboot  it. 
Eh?" 

Miss  Purvis  passed  a  hand  over  her  brow. 
"  It's  very  extraordinary,"  she  murmured ; 
"  but  somehow  I  seem  to  have  forgotten  the 

exact    words.      Grammar    is .      Grammar 

is .    No!    I  cannot  remember  them."    And 

she  fell  to  gazing  at  her  own  name,  written  on 
the  inside  of  the  cover  in  a  schoolgirl  hand  and 
followed  by  the  undoubtedly  full  address  of  her 
residence :  "  Mary  Jane  Purvis,  12  Blyth 
Street,  Pilrig,  Edinburgh,  Midlothian,  Scot- 
land, Great  Britain,  Europe,  The  World." 

She  could  not  help  smiling  at  her  youthful 
folly,  and,  almost  before  she  knew,  Christina 
was  looking  over  her  shoulder. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica ! "  exclaimed  Christina. 
"  Was't  you  that  drew  thur  funny  wee  men, 
auntie?  " 

"  Funny  wee  men !  "  Miss  Purvis  cried  in  hor- 
ror, her  eyes  lighting  on  several  tiny  pencil 


70  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

sketches  above  and  below  her  name  and  ad- 
dress. 

She  made  to  close  the  book,  but  Christina 
caught  hold  of  it,  pulled  it  from  her,  skipped 
across  the  room  in  an  ecstasy  of  mirth,  and 
finally  fell  into  a  chair  with  peals  of  laughter. 

"  Oh,  the  funny  wee  men ! "  she  gasped. 
"  My !  it's  you  for  the  comic,  auntie,  it's  you 
for  the  comic !  " 

"  Come,  my  dear,"  said  her  aunt,  laughing  in 
a  shamed  fashion,  "  give  me  back  the  book.  I 
think  I  can  remember  the  definition  now." 

But  Christina,  turning  to  the  end  of  the  vol- 
ume, found  more  sketches. 

"  Here  yin  wi'  bowly  legs ! "  she  announced, 
"  an'  here  anither  wi' " 

"  Christina !  "  the  spinster  remonstrated. 

But  Christina  was  beyond  control.  "  Wha 
was  Maister  M'Fadyen  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"Mr.  M'Fadyen,"  replied  Miss  Purvis,  re- 
straining herself,  "  was  my  most  respected 
master.    He  taught  English  and " 

"  Fine  ham !  He's  the  bowly-leggit  yin,  an' 
ye've  wrote  ablow  *  him,  '  Mr.  M'Fadyen  is  a 
pig ! '  My !  but  it's  you  for  the  comic !  Was  ye 
no'  feart  to  write  thur  things  on  yer  book,  eh  ?  " 

Miss  Purvis  rose,  trembling. 

"  Christina,  give  me  the  book  at  once." 

The  girl  looked  at  her  aunt.  "  I  didna  mean 
to  vex  ye,  auntie,"  she  said  remorsefully,  and 
did  as  requested. 

"  Christina,"  continued  Miss  Purvis,  her  an- 
*  Ablow — below. 


THE  GRAMMAR  LESSON  71 

ger  evaporating  at  once.  "  I'm  thinking  of 
doing  some  tidying-up  in  the  shop  before  bed- 
time.   Would  you  like  to  help  me?  " 

"Fine!" 

"  And,"  added  Miss  Purvis,  with  an  effort, 
"  we'll  begin  our  grammar  lesson  in  earnest 
next  Monday." 

"  Hooch,  ay ! "  said  Christina  cheerfully. 
"  But  did  you  no'  think  grammar  lessons  was 
rubbidge  when  you  was  at  the  schule,  auntie?  " 
she  asked  in  a  confidential  whisper. 

"  Were"  corrected  Miss  Purvis.  "  Grammar 
lessons  were  rubbish,  Christina,"  she  said,  never 
suspecting  the  trap  set  for  her. 

"  I  thocht  that !  "  cried  Christina.  "  My,  it's 
you  for  the  comic !  " 


D 


VIII 

THE  INVENTORY 

\0  be  careful,  Christina,"  Miss  Purvis 
implored,  nervously  regarding  her 
niece,  who,  perched  on  the  top  step  of 
the  shop  ladder,  was  engaged  in  removing  sun- 
dry dusty  packages  from  a  high  shelf. 

"  Dinna  excite !  "  returned  Christina  reassur- 
ingly. "  Mind  yer  nut,  auntie ! "  she  added ; 
«  I'm  gaun  to  drap  this  yin." 

A  large  empty  cardboard  box  fell  at  the  spin- 
ster's feet. 

"  Christina,  I  cannot  allow  you  to  address  me 
in  that  disrespectful  fashion ! "  Miss  Purvis 
cried  indignantly.  "  Mind  my  nut,  indeed ! 
What  do  you  mean  by  it  ?  " 

"  Och,  ye  ken  fine  what  yer  nut  is,  auntie. 
Staun'  back  a  bit.  I'm  gaun  to  drap  anither 
yin.  What  d'ye  keep  a'  thae  auld  emp'y  boaxes 
for?  Eh?  My!"  went  on  Christina,  without 
waiting  for  an  answer,  "  there  an'  awfu'  rub- 
bidge  up  here!  I  suppose  ye've  never  cleaned 
this  shelf  afore.  See  the  dirt!"  She  swept  a 
heavy  cloud  of  dust  from  the  shelf.  "  That'll 
be  ten  year  auld  onywey " 

Miss  Purvis  sneezed  violently  as  the  eloud 
enveloped  her. 

72 


THE  INVENTORY  73 

"  Chape  snuff ! "  remarked  Christina  pleas- 
antly. 

"  Allow  me  to  tell  you,  Christina,"  said  Miss 
Purvis,  in  her  most  dignified  voice,  which,  how- 
ever, was  half-choked,  "  allow  me  to  tell  you 
that  every  shelf  in  my  shop  was  thoroughly 
cleaned  exactly  a  year  ago." 

Christina  very  nearly  exclaimed  "  Fine 
ham ! "  but  checked  herself  in  time,  and  merely 
observed,  "  That's  peculiar !  " 

"  And,"  continued  Miss  Purvis,  "  I  forbid  you 
to  touch  the  shelves  without  a  damp  cloth. 
Wait  till  I  get  you  one." 

"  Bring  a  dizzen  when  ye're  at  it,  auntie.  Ye 
could  plant  tatties  up  here!  Are  ye  sure  ye 
didna  forget  this  shelf  last  year?" 

"  If  you  say  another  word  Christina,"  said 
Miss  Purvis  warmly,  "  I  shall  send  you  to  bed, 
and  do  my  stock-taking  myself.  Such  imperti- 
nence I  never  heard !  "  She  hurried  off  to  pro- 
cure the  damp  cloth. 

"  She's  got  her  monkey  up  the  nicht ! "  mur- 
mured Christina.  "  I  suppose  she  was  vexed  at 
Baldyin  no'  comin'  the  day." 

It  had  been  a  stormy  day,  and  the  steamer 
had  been  unable  to  make  the  pier.  Miss  Pur- 
vis had  closed  the  shop  earlier  than  usual  in 
order  to  get  through  her  "  annual  stock- 
taking," which  really  consisted  in  a  "  spring- 
cleaning"  combined  with  considerable  mourn- 
ing over  goods  regarded  as  hopelessly  unsale- 
able. 


74  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

When  the  shelves  had  been  cleaned  the  aunt 
and  niece  refreshed  themselves  with  tea. 
Thereafter  they   returned  to  the   shop. 

Miss  Purvis  sighed  as  she  surveyed  the  piles 
and  heaps  of  goods  that  were  to  be  replaced  on 
the  shelves. 

"  I'm  sure  I  might  as  well  throw  half  these 
parcels  into  the  sea,"  she  said  sadly. 

"  Ay,"  said  Christina  sympathetically,  "  ye've 
a  queer  lot  of  rubbidge  in  yer  shope,  auntie. 
But  ye're  no'  buyin'  as  muckle  rubbidge  as  ye 
did  afore  I  cam'  to  ye,"  she  continued  encour- 
agingly. "  Ye  see,  ye've  nae  notion  o'  what 
the  weans  like.  Baldyin's  jist  the  same.  I  ken 
he  doesna  mean  to  diddle  ye  wi'  toys  that 
winna  sell.  He  jist  doesna  ken  what  weans 
like.     Him  an'  you  are  a  pair,  an' " 

"  That  will  do,  Christina.  You  talk  too 
much." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  But  a'  the  same,  ye  ken  it's 
true  what  I'm  sayin'.  Ye  see,  it's  no'  that  lang 
since  I  was  a  wean  masel',  an'  so  I  can  mind 
what  weans  like.  You  an'  Baldyin  ha'e  forgot. 
D'ye  see,  auntie?  " 

Miss  Purvis  smiled.  Somehow  she  could  not 
help  smiling.  With  a  light  pat  on  the  girl's 
head  she  said — 

"  Really,  Christina,  you  are  an  extraordinary 
child.  But  come!  We  must  hurry  and  get 
these  things  back  on  the  shelves.  It's  nearly 
ten  o'clock." 

Christina  fell  to  work  at  once,  but  she  had 


THE  INVENTORY  75 

not  replaced  a  dozen  packages  when  she  se- 
verely startled  her  aunt  by  giving  a  loud  shout 
and  jumping  from  the  fourth  step  of  the  ladder. 

"Oh!  Christina!"  wailed  Miss  Purvis,  sit- 
ting down  on  a  doll's  house  (unsaleable)  and 
crushing  it  flat. 

Christina  flew  to  her  and  assisted  her  to  rise. 

"  Did  ye  hurt  yersel'?  What  for  did  ye  dae 
that?  My!  it's  a  guid  thing  ye  didna  smash 
the  hauf-dizzen  o'  Noah's  Arks  that  cam'  in 
yesterday.  I  was  feart  ye  had  done  for 
them " 

"  Oh !  Christina !  you  gave  me  such  a  fright ! 
What  made  you  jump  from  the  ladder?" 

"  I  jamp  because  I  got  a  notion  sudden- 
like— a  rare  notion.  But  are  ye  a'  richt 
noo?" 

"  I — I  think  so.  But  you  must  try  to  be  more 
careful.  Now,  get  back  to  your  work.  It's  get- 
ting so  late."  Miss  Purvis  began  to  gather  up 
the  fragments  of  the  ruined  house. 

"  Aw,  baud  on  a  shake,  auntie,  till  ye  hear 
ma  notion !  It's  a  clinker !  What  d'ye  say  to 
ha'e  a  chape  sale  an'  get  quit  o'  the  auld  rub- 
bidge,  eh?" 

"  A  cheap  sale?" 

"  Uh-ha !  Like  what  the  big  shopes  ha'e  in 
Glesca.  What  they  ca'  a  Monster  Jumbo  and 
Rubbidge  Sale.  Eh?  Ye  ken  what  I  mean, 
auntie?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  but,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Purvis, 
shaking  her  head,  "  this  is  not  Glasgow.     It 


76  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

would  simply  make  me  look  ridiculous  to  have 
a  sale  in  my  little  shop." 

"Nae  fears!  It  wudna  mak'  you  look  ri- 
deec'lous.  It  wud  niaybe  mak'  yer  customers 
look  that  wey;  but  what's  the  odds?  My!  it 
wud  be  fine  to  get  quit  o'  a  heap  o'  stuff,  at  re- 
jooced  prices.  We  wadna  need  to  rejooce  prices 
that  muckle  either ;  ye  could  get  tickets  wi'  re- 
jooced  in  big  letters,  an'  that  wud  temp'  the 
folk.    It  wud  be  fine  fun  forbye !    Are  ye  on  ?  " 

"Am  I  on  what?" 

"On  for  a  Monster  Jumbo  Sale?  Och,  say 
ye'll  dae  it,  auntie!  Come  on,  noo!  Dinna  be 
feart.  I'll  help  ye.  I'll  polish  up  a'  the  auld 
things  till  they  look  like  new.  I'll  tell  the 
lassies  at  the  schule  to  save  their  pennies.  I'll 
get  a'  the  weans  to  badger  their  mithers  for 
maiks  * " 

"  No,  no,  Christina!  I  cannot  have  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"  Weel,  I'll  dae  onything  ye  like,  auntie,  if 
ye  promise  we'll  ha'e  the  sale.  Ye  see,"  Chris- 
tina rattled  on,  quivering  with  enthusiasm, 
"  ye  see,  auntie,  a'  ye've  got  to  dae  is  to  write 
the  printer  an'  get  some  big  bills  wi'  Great 
Sale  on  them,  an'  stick  them  on  the  winda,  an' 
a  lot  o'  cairds  wi'  Rcjooced  on  them  for " 

Gently  but  firmly  Miss  Purvis  interrupted 
the  girl.  "  No,  no,  Christina !  I  couldn't  think 
of  having  a  sale.  I  know  you  mean  well,  my 
dear,  but  you  must  not  think  any  more  about 
it.  A  sale  would  be  sure  to  be  a  frightful  fail- 
Maik=&  halfpenny. 


THE  INVENTORY  77 

lire,  and  we  should  be  ashamed  of  it  for  ever 
after," 

"  No'  me !  "  said  Christina  stoutly.  "  But  the 
sale  wudna  be  a  failure.  I'll  bet  ye  a  thousan' 
pounds  to  a  rotten  aiple " 

"Oh!  Christina,  Christina!" 

"  Weel,  I'll  bet  ye  onything  ye  like.  Come 
on,  auntie !    Ye're  awfu'  henny !  " 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  a  little 
impatiently,  "  I  have  already  said  '  No.'  Now 
let  us  get  these  things  put  back  on  the  shelves. 
We  have  wasted  too  much  time  already."  She 
picked  up  several  packages.  "  Now,  Christina, 
if  you  will  get  up  on  the  steps — be  care- 
ful, mind — I  shall  hand  the  things  up  to 
you." 

But  Christina  did  not  go  near  the  steps. 
She  squatted  on  the  floor  where  she  was,  and 
looked  grimly  at  her  aunt. 

"  I'm  on  strike,"  she  said  deliberately. 

Threats  and  pleadings  failed  to  produce  any 
effect  on  Christina. 

"  You  are  not  only  naughty,  but  also  ex- 
tremely silly,"  said  the  exasperated  Miss  Pur- 
vis at  last.  "  It's  eleven  o'clock.  If  you  won't 
help  me,  you  had  better  go  to  bed." 

"  I'm  enjoyin'  masel'  fine  whaur  I  am,"  said 
Christina  untruthfully.  She  was  suffering  from 
a  sleeping  foot.  "  See  an'  no'  dae  a  backfa'  aff 
the  ladder." 

"  I  do  not  intend  to  use  the  ladder,"  said 


78  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Miss  Purvis,  whose  ankle  was  still  weak.  She 
spoke  coldly  even  haughtily. 

"  Whaur's  yer  wings?  "  inquired  Christina. 

Whereupon  Miss  Purvis,  wearied  and  wor- 
ried, but  into  tears.  "  You  are  a  cruel  girl !  " 
she  sobbed.  "  I  am  going  to  bed.  I  shall  leave 
everything  as  it  is.  I  don't  care  how  the  shop 
looks  to-morrow.  I  don't  care  if  I  am  ruined. 
I — I  don't  care " 

She  was  interrupted  by  Christina  falling 
upon  her  neck.  "  I'm  sorry,  auntie,"  said 
Christina,  some  thirty-odd  times. 

They  got  to  bed  about  2  a.m. — after  Chris- 
tina had  put  the  last  package  in  its  place,  and 
after  Miss  Purvis,  touched  by  her  niece's  fran- 
tic devotion  to  duty,  had  promised  that  a  cheap 
sale  would  be  inaugurated  within  a  fortnight. 


IX 
THE  CHEAP  SALE 

ON  the  first  morning  of  the  sale  Chris- 
tina set  out  for  school  at  the  usual 
hour,  but  not  in  her  usual  spirits.  Miss 
Purvis  sought  to  comfort  her  with  the  promise 
that  she  would  be  allowed  to  help  in  the  shop 
after  school  hours;  but  Christina's  extreme 
disappointment  was  not  so  easily  cured.  Until 
the  last  moment  the  girl  had  hoped  that  her 
aunt  would  allow  her  to  miss  school  for  one  day 
at  least,  and  as  she  left  the  shop  she  could 
hardly  see  the  bills  in  the  window  for  tears. 

Within  half-an-hour,  however,  her  depression 
was  changed  into  delight.  She  burst  into  the 
shop  with  an  ear-piercing  whoop,  and  danced 
wildly  in  front  of  a  table  laden  with  articles, 
each  of  which  was  ticketed  with  a  large  "  6." 

"  Christina,  what  has  happened?  "  cried  Miss 
Purvis,  whose  only  customer  so  far  had  been 
a  child  demanding  change  for  a  penny. 

"  Measles !  "  shouted  Christina  jubilantly. 

"What?" 

"Measles,  auntie!  A  lot  o'  the  weans  has 
got  measles,  an'  the  schule's  to  be  shut  for  a 
fortnicht.  Is  that  no' champion?  I'll  no' miss 
ony  o'  the  sale  noo !  "    Christina  danced  round 

79 


80  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

behind  the  counter,  and  came  to  rest  beside  her 
relative. 

"  Measles !  How  dreadful !  "  sighed  Miss 
Purvis.    "  I  do  hope  you  aren't  going  to " 

"  Och,  I  had  them  when  I  was  young,"  said 
Christina.  "  Ye  needna  be  feart  for  me,  auntie. 
But  is't  no'  champion?  You  an'  me'll  ha'e  fine 
fun  thegether.    Eh?" 

"  Of — of  course  I  shall  be  glad  of  your — 
help,  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  feeling  her 
niece's  eye  upon  her.  "  How  long  did  you  say 
the  school  was  to  be  closed  ?  " 

"  A  fortnicht — maybe  langer,  if  mair  weans 
gets  the  measles.  Jessie  Ann  M'Kirdy  prom- 
ised me  she  wud  try  an'  get  them  frae  her  wee 
brither  next  week,  so  we'll  maybe  get  a  month's 
holiday." 

Miss  Purvis  looked  horrified,  but  said 
nothing. 

"  Hoo  ha'e  ye  been  gettin'  on?"  inquired 
Christina,  coming  to  business. 

"  There  has  been  nothing  doing  so  far,"  re- 
plied the  other,  endeavouring  to  speak  natu- 
rally. The  prospect  of  Christina's  company  in 
the  shop  for  weeks  was  almost  too  much  for 
her.  "  I'm  afraid  our  sale  is  going  to  be  a  dis- 
appointment," she  added  despondently ;  "  I 
feel  it  in  my  bones." 

"  That's  jist  yer  rheumatics,  auntie,"  said 
Christina  cheerfully.  "  It's  early  yet.  I  ken 
o'  twa-three  folk  that'll  be  comin'  to  buy  the 
day." 


THE  CHEAP  SALE  81 

"  Oh !  Christina !  You  don't  mean  to  say  that 
you  have  been  asking  people  to  come " 

"  What  for  no'  ?  There's  the  doctor's  leddy, 
an'  Mistress  Beaton,  an'  a  frien'  o'  Mistress 
Beaton's  that's  comin'  to  buy  heaps  o'  yer  auld 
toys  for  a  children's  hospital.  I  didna  mean 
to  let  bug  aboot  it — I  meant  to  surprise  ye — 
but  I  see  ye're  needin'  something  to  cheer  ye  up. 
A  face  like  a  fiddle  doesna  bring  custom." 

"  I'm  sure  you  meant  well,"  said  Miss  Purvis, 
"  but  I  wish  you  had  not " 

"  I  wish  ye  had  got  bigger  bills  for  the 
winda,"  Christina  remarked.  "  Thur  yins  is 
nae  show.  An'  ye  should  ha'e  got  them  printit 
wi'  Great  Sale,  no'  jist  Sale.  But  never  heed, 
auntie.  We'll  manage  fine.  I  hope  we  sell  a  lot 
o'  the  saxpenny  things.  Some  o'  them's  been 
terrible  rejooced.  D'ye  no'  think  we  micht  get 
mair  nor  saxpence  for  the  bottles  o'  scent  an' 
the  cork-soles.     Eh,  auntie?" 

Miss  Purvis  shook  her  head.  "  I  should 
never  have  bought  perfume  to  retail  at  a  shil- 
ling, and  there  are  so  many  cheaper  qualities 
of  soles  on  the  market  now-a-days." 

"  Whisht !  "  said  Christina  suddenly.  "  Here 
somebody  comin'!  Oh,  it's  jist  Miss  M'Indoe. 
We'll  no'  get  muckle  oot  o'  her.  She'll  be  want- 
in'  to  knock  doon  yer  rejooced  prices,  auntie. 
Dinna  be  saft  wi'  her." 

"  Hush,  Christina !  " 

A  prim  lady  entered  the  shop  and,  after 
greeting  Miss  Purvis,  announced  that  she  had 


82  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

just  come  in  to  take  a  look  round,  not  that  she 
really  required  anything  at  the  moment. 

While  Miss  Purvis,  with  sundry  remarks  on 
the  weather,  was  directing  the  customer's  at- 
tention to  goods  laid  out  on  the  counter,  Chris- 
tina went  quietly  round  to  the  table  bearing 
the  sixpenny  bargains.  There  she  stood  at  at- 
tention. 

Ere  long  she  was  disgusted  to  observe  that 
her  aunt  was  weak  enough  to  accept  ninepence 
for  a  photo-frame  which  had  already  been  re- 
duced to  a  shilling. 

At  last  Miss  M'Indoe  came  over  to  the  table. 

"  Ninepence  each,  mem,"  said  Christina  in  a 
low  respectful  tone  of  voice.  "  They're  terri- 
ble rejooced,"  she  added. 

Miss  M'Indoe  fingered  a  bottle  of  "  White 
Rose,"  and  sniffed  disdainfully. 

"  Ye  can  tak'  twa  things  for  a  shillin',  mem," 
whispered  Christina,  "  if — if  ye'll  no'  tell  ony- 
body." 

And  the  end  of  it  was  that  Miss  M'Indoe  pur- 
chased a  bottle  of  perfume  and  a  little  yellow 
box  "  made  of  wood  that  grew  near  Burns's 
cottage  " — in  Germany. 

No  sooner  had  the  lady  departed  than  Chris- 
tina was  rejoiced  by  the  entrance  of  Mrs.  Mac- 
Dougall's  maid,  the  Stornoway  girl  whom  she 
had  befriended  at  the  doctor's  door.  Flora  had 
just  received  her  first  month's  wages  and  de- 
sired to  buy  something  to  send  home  to  her 
mother. 


THE  CHEAP  SALE  83 

Miss  Purvis,  being  free,  would  have  attended 
to  the  girl,  but  Christina  gave  her  a  look  which 
plainly  said  "  Leave  this  to  me !  "  And  ere  long 
Miss  Purvis  was  engaged  with  the  minister, 
who  required  a  particular  sort  of  twine  which 
Miss  Purvis  knew  she  had,  if  she  could  only 
lay  hands  on  it.  She  was  getting  rather  flur- 
ried when  Christina  quietly  observed — 

"  You'll  get  the  twine  in  the  broon  boax,  in 
the  third  drawer,  ablow  the  shelf  whaur  ye 
keep  the  hair-ile,  auntie." 

"  Christina  knows  the  business,  Miss  Pur- 
vis," Mr.  Beaton  remarked,  smiling.  And 
Christina  glowed  with  pride  while  she  showed 
Flora  framed  photographs  of  Kilmabeg. 

"  Ye  should  buy  yin  o'  thur.  Flora,"  she  ad- 
vised. "  See !  here  yin  wi'  Mistress  MacDou- 
gall's  hoose  in  it.  Yer  mither  wud  like  fine  to 
see  whaur  ye  are.    Eh  ?  " 

"  Put  I  will  haf  peen  sending  my  sister  a 
post-card  wis  that  same  picture  a  week  pefore 
to-morrow,"  said  Flora. 

"  But  it  wud  be  nice  for  ye  to  ha'e  this  pic- 
tur',  Flora,  if  ye  was  leavin'  yer  place  here. 
Eh?" 

"Well,  well,  I  will  pe  thinking  apout  it, 
Teeny.  Now  I  will  pe  puying  somesing  my 
mother  can  mek  use  for." 

"  This  wey  for  the  bargains,  then ! "  said 
Christina  briskly,  and  led  the  way  to  the  six- 
penny table.  "  Ninepence  each,"  she  whispered, 
with  a  comprehensive  wave  of  her  hand.    "  But, 


84  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

seem'  yer  a  frien'  o'  mines,  Flora,  I'll  rejooce 
it  to  saxpence." 

Whereupon  Flora  beamed,  and  within  the 
space  of  twenty  minutes  fell  to  four  separate 
temptations,  including  a  pair  of  cork  soles. 

"  Weel,  auntie,"  remarked  Christina,  when 
the  twain  were  alone,  about  mid-day,  "  we're 
no'  daein'  that  bad — are  we?  " 

"  Indeed,"  returned  Miss  Purvis,  quite 
brightly,  "  I  think  we  are  doing  very  well." 

"  Hoorav !  "  cried  Christina.  "  An'  the  led- 
dies  ha'e  to  come  yet!  It'll  be  a  busy  day 
afore  it's  done,  auntie !  My !  is't  no'  champion 
aboot  the  measles?" 

"  You  must  not  rejoice  at  the  misfortunes  of 
other  people,  Christina,"  said  her  aunt  sol- 
emnly. "  The  measles  must  be  making  a  num- 
ber of  people  very  wretched  at  this  very  mo- 
ment." 

"  Ay,  they're  awfu'  kitly  *  things,  the 
measles.  Are  ye  no'  gettin'  hungry,  auntie?  I 
think  we  best  get  wur  dinner  early,  an'  be 
ready  for  the  rush  i'  the  efternune.  Hoo's  yer 
rheumatics  noo?" 

Miss  Purvis  smiled.  "  They  seem  to  have 
gone,  dear,"  she  answered.  Then  the  smile 
vanished. 

"  Christina ! " 

"Uh-ha?" 

"Who   turned   all   the  price-tickets   upside 

down?" 

*  Kitly =tick\y. 


THE  CHEAP  SALE  85 

"  Me !  "  said  Christina  proudly.  "  I  done  it 
to  cod  Miss  M'Indoe.  Ye've  got  to  be  fly  for 
her.  So  I  turned  a'  the  saxes  into  nines,  an' 
telPt  her  she  could  buy  twa  things  for  a  shillin', 
if  she  didna  tell  onybody.  I  hope  she  tells 
everybody ! " 

"  Christina,  go  and  put  the  tickets  right  at 
once." 

"What  wey?  Ye'll  sell  faur  niair  things  if 
the  customers  think  they're  knockin'  doon  yer 
prices.     It's  fair  enough — is't  no'  ?  " 

Miss  Purvis  looked  doubtful.  To  her  the 
method  seemed  barely  honest  and  very  undig- 
nified. 

"  I'll  change  them,  if  ye  like,"  said  Christina 
at  last,  "  but  if  Miss  M'Indoe  comes  in  again, 
ye'll  be  nickit,  auntie." 

And  Miss  Purvis  was  thenceforth  speechless 
on  the  question. 

The  sale  lasted  ten  days,  and  the  total  re- 
sult, if  not  all  that  Christina  had  expected,  was 
a  great  deal  more  than  her  aunt  had  dared  to 
hope  for. 


X 

"OWER  AULD   FOR  TRUE  LOVE" 

THE  piermaster  had  assured  her  that  the 
afternoon  steamer  would  not  risk  call- 
ing at  Kilmabeg  in  such  a  gale;  but  at 
thirteen  one  hopes  all  things,  and  Christina 
stood  alone  on  the  pier,  grasping  the  rail  with 
her  right  hand  and  holding  on  her  black  straw 
hat  with  her  left.  Rain  and  spray  splashed  her 
face  and  pattered  on  her  shabby  old  water- 
proof; her  fair  hair,  which  had  been  loosened 
from  a  score  of  tight  little  pigtails  that  morn- 
ing, and  whose  waviness  she  had  so  admired 
when  her  aunt  was  not  looking,  flapped  heavily 
behind  her,  a  sodden  mass.  In  her  anxiety  to 
be  on  the  pier  in  good  time,  she  had  omitted  to 
tuck  it  inside  her  waterproof,  as  she  usually 
did  in  wet  weather. 

The  steamer  was  already  nearly  an  hour  late. 
Apparently  it  had  experienced  difficulties  in 
taking  the  other  piers  on  the  route ;  and  Kilma- 
beg was  not  only  the  most  exposed,  but  also 
the  least  important  pier  of  all.  Yet  Christina 
waited,  though  she  wondered  uncomfortably 
what  her  aunt  would  be  thinking  in  the  little 
newspaper  and  fancy-goods  shop  along  in  the 
village. 

86 


"  OWER  AULD  FOR  LOVE  "         87 

At  last,  high  above  the  rocky  point  whereon 
the  waves  broke  furiously,  appeared  scurrying 
wisps  of  smoke,  then  a  reeling  red  funnel ;  and 
presently  the  steamer  staggered  into  sight,  the 
paddles  beating  water  and  air  alternately,  the 
bow  throwing  up  clouds  of  spray.  A  minute 
later  Christina  sighed  hopelessly.  The  pier- 
master  had  been  right.  The  steamer  was  giv- 
ing Kilmabeg  a  wide  berth. 

Disconsolate,  the  girl  turned  away. 

"  It's  a'  up  a  gum-tree,"  she  muttered. 
"  Baldwin  '11  no'  be  here  the  day.  He'll  no' 
likely  come  noo  for  anither  month." 

She  wended  her  way  over  the  cobbles  of  the 
deserted  pier,  and  thence  along  the  road,  till 
she  reached  the  little  shop,  above  the  door  of 
which  was  the  simple  inscription — "  M.  J.  Pur- 
vis, Stationer  and  Newsagent."  For  a  year  now 
this  little  shop  and  the  dwelling-room  behind  it 
had  been  Christina's  home. 

At  the  door  of  the  shop  the  girl  halted, 
stepped  aside,  and  peered  in  at  the  window. 
But  there  were  so  many  articles  in  the  window 
that  she  could  see  nothing  but  her  aunt's 
nose,  which  was  just  visible  between  the  ga- 
ble of  a  Noah's  Ark  and  the  edge  of  a  chest- 
protector. 

Still,  that  was  something  for  an  observant 
girl  like  Christina  to  build  upon — though,  to  be 
sure,  it  was  quite  an  ordinary-sized  nose;  a  lit- 
tle sharp,  perhaps,  and  sensitive  to  low  tem- 
peratures, but  by  no  means  badly  shaped.    The 


88  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

nose  remained  stationary,  and  Christina  noted 
that  it  supported  glasses. 

"  She's  pretendin'  for  to  be  addin'  up  her 
ledger,"  the  girl  reflected.  "  That's  what  she 
aye  does  when  she's  expectin'  Baldyin.  If  I 
was  her,  I  wud  be  readin'  a  love-story.  .  .  . 
She's  got  on  her  best  blouse,  an'  the  fancy  col- 
lar wi'  the  pink  bow.  .  .  .  An'  he's  no'  comin' ! 
Oh,  Jamaica!  what  an  iron  o'  fate!"  Chris- 
tina, it  should  be  mentioned,  had  recently  taken 
to  reading,  with  more  avidity  than  ever,  the 
penny  novelettes  which  Miss  Purvis,  as  she  had 
more  than  once  explained,  was  compelled  to 
stock  to  meet  the  public's  demand. 

Christina  sighed  as  she  turned  away  from  the 
window,  and  after  a  little  hesitation  entered 
the  shop. 

"  Fine  day  for  the  jucks,"  she  remarked  sar- 
castically.   "  The  boat " 

"Christina,  where  have  you  been?"  cried 
Miss  Purvis,  sitting  up  and  removing  her 
glasses.  "  You  had  only  the  one  paper  to  de- 
liver at  the  doctor's,  and " 

"  I  was  on  the  pier,  auntie.  The  boat  didna 
ca'.  It  was  ower  stormy.  Rotten  weather — 
eh?" 

"  Christina !  I  have  asked  you  frequently 
not  to  use  that  word.  Rotten  means  decayed. 
You  should  say  that  the  weather  is  most  dis- 
agreeable. I  have  been  in  Kilmabeg  for  twelve 
years  now,  and  I  have  certainly  never  seen  such 
Weather  in  the  month  of  April.     But,  my  child! 


"  OWER  AULD  FOR  LOVE  "         89 

you  are  soaking.     Change  your  wet  things  at 
once." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  said  Christina,  with  affected 
cheerfulness.  "  I  suppose,"  she  added,  "  Bald- 
yin  '11  no'  be  here  the  day." 

Miss  Purvis  looked  her  severest.  "  Really, 
Christina,  you  must  try  to  cultivate  some  re- 
spect for  people,  even  if  you  do  not  particu- 
larly admire  them.    Mr.  Baldwin " 

Christina  laughed.  "  Ye  ken  fine  I'm  jist 
jokin',  auntie.  I  ca'  him  Baldyin  because  he 
is  a  bald  yin — he's  as  bald  as  a  plate.  But  it's 
jist  ma  pet  name  for  him.  I  like  him  fine. 
'Deed,  there's  no'  mony  like  him — Maister  Bald- 
win. But,"  she  continued,  ere  the  other  could 
speak,  "  what's  to  be  done?  We're  oot  o'  jum- 
pin'-jakes,  an'  penny  whistles,  an'  ha'penny 
Jew's  harps,  an'  farden  dolls,  an'  penny  pistols, 
an' " 

"  We  must  just  write  to  Bunting  &  Co.  for 
what  we  require.  Now  go  and  change  your  wet 
things,  dear." 

"  Ah,  but  ye  ken  fine  we  never  get  the  same 
quality  when  we  write  as  when  we  gi'e  the 
order  to  Baldyin — I  mean  Maister  Baldwin. 
I've  heard  ye  say  it  yersel',  auntie." 

"Well,  well,  Christina,  it  cannot  be  helped 
on  this  occasion.  We  cannot  control  the 
weather."    Miss  Purvis  suppressed  a  sigh. 

"  Control  yer  granny !  "  muttered  Christina. 
"  Ye  should  write  to  Maister  Baldwin  hissel'," 
she  said  aloud,  "  an'  he'll  see  that  ye  get  the 


90  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

best  quality.  But  it's  an  awfu'  sin  the  boat 
didna  ca\  It's  time  we  was  thinkin'  o'  wur 
summer  novelties — spades  an'  pails,  an'  fishin'- 
lines  an'  hooks,  an'  bathin'  pants'  an " 

"  Christina,  I  have  already  asked  you  to 
change  your  wet  things,"  said  Miss  Purvis 
firmly. 

"  I  heard  ye,  auntie.  But  think  o'  Baldyin 
on  the  boat — maybe  sea-seeck — wi'  a'  his  sam- 
ples, an'  no'  able  to  gi'e  us  even  a  squint  at 
them " 

"What  do  you  mean  by  squint,  Christina?" 

"  A  keek — a  look — a — oh,  ye  ken  fine  what  I 
mean,  auntie !  But  what's  the  odds,  as  long  as 
ye're  happy?  .  .  .  D'ye  think  Baldyin  '11  be 
sea-seeck  on  the  boat  ?  " 

Apparently  Miss  Purvis  did  not  hear  the 
question.  She  bent  over  her  ledger  and  ad- 
justed her  glasses  on  her  nose.  They  fell  off, 
and  she  picked  them  up  and  re-adjusted  them. 
Her  face  grew  slightly  pink. 

"  I'll  awa'  an'  change,"  said  Christina.  "  But 
dinna  write  for  onything  till  I  see  the  list  o' 
wanteds,"  she  added,  and  hurried  through  the 
door  into  the  dwelling-room. 

Closing  the  door  carefully  behind  her,  she 
skipped  round  the  table  several  times.  Then 
she  paused,  and  in  a  hoarse  whisper  said — 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !    She  loves  him !  " 

For  the  last  six  months  it  had  been  Chris- 
tina's ambition  to  witness  the  arrangement  of 
a  match  between  her  aunt  and  the  gentleman 


"  OWER  AULD  FOR  LOVE  "         91 

who  travelled  for  the  wholesale  toy  firm  in 
Glasgow.  She  admired  Mr.  Baldwin  as  a  man 
—he  had  given  her  a  new  sixpence  on  his  last 
Christmas  visit — and  she  felt  she  could  love 
him  as  an  uncle.  Moreover,  she  fancied  that 
he  regarded  her  aunt  with  rather  more  than  the 
eyes  of  stern  business.  How  did  her  aunt  re- 
gard him? 

Christina's  idea  in  going  to  the  pier  that 
forenoon  had  been  this.  She  would  wait  until 
she  saw  Mr.  Baldwin  actually  ashore ;  then  she 
would  speed  along  to  the  shop  and  inform  Miss 
Purvis  that  Mr.  Baldwin  was  not  coming;  and 
when  Mr.  Baldwin  did  appear  unexpectedly 
she  would  be  watching  her  aunt's  countenance. 
The  weather  had  spoilt  her  little  scheme,  but 
now  she  felt  that  she  had  found  out  half  of 
what  she  wanted  to  know,  in  spite  of  the 
weather. 

"  She  loves  him !  " 

Having  removed  her  hat  and  waterproof, 
Christina  sat  down  in  the  old  easy-chair  by  the 
fire  and  hugged  herself.  Coming  back  to  earth 
for  a  brief  space,  she  took  off  one  of  her  boots. 
Then  soaring  once  more,  she  hugged  herself 
again  till,  throwing  herself  back  in  an  ecstasy 
of  mirthful  delight,  she  felt  her  clammy  hair 
against  the  nape  of  her  neck. 

Suddenly  sobered,  she  got  up  and  inspected 
herself  in  the  hanging  mirror. 

"  Oh,  leeks !  "  she  groaned  at  the  sight  of  her 
hair. 


92  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

At  that  moment  she  heard  the  shop  door 
opened,  and  the  next  she  fairly  jumped  to  rec- 
ognize the  hearty  voice  of  Mr.  Baldwin. 

"  Awful  weather,  Miss  Purvis,"  he  said. 
"  And  how  are  you  ?  I  drove  round  from  Kin- 
lochan.  Couldn't  afford  to  miss  a  good  cus- 
tomer like  yourself,  you  know."  He  laughed. 
"  Well,  and  how's  business?  " 

The  reply  of  Miss  Purvis  was  inaudible  to 
Christina. 

"  You  are  looking  remarkably  well,"  she 
heard  Mr.  Baldwin  say,  as  he  dumped  a  case  of 
samples  on  the  counter.     "  Remarkably  well !  " 

"Can  this  be  love?"  muttered  Christina, 
creeping  to  the  door  and  peeping  through  a  tiny 
hole  in  the  curtain  which  covered  the  glazed 
portion.    "  Can  this  be  love?  " 

"  And  how  is  Christina?  "  inquired  Mr.  Bald- 
win. 

The  girl  was  tempted  to  answer  for  herself, 
but  remembered  her  dishevelled  condition.  It 
would  never  do  to  affront  her  aunt  at  such  a 
critical  juncture. 

Then,  to  her  dismay,  Miss  Purvis  proceeded 
calmly  to  pay  an  account,  which  Mr.  Baldwin 
receipted  without  the  slightest  sign  of  emotion. 
And  afterwards  thev  discussed  toys — toys! 

Christina  was  disgusted.  She  was  quite  sure 
that  Mr.  Baldwin  had  blushed  on  his  last  visit, 
and  her  hopes  had  run  high.  She  returned  to 
the  easy-chair,  and  sat  there,  gloomily  contem- 
plating an  incipient  hole  in  the  toe  of  her  stock- 


"  OWER  AULD  FOR  LOVE  "  93 

ing,  while  now  and  then  Mr.  Baldwin's  voice 
reached  her  ears  in  such  phrases  as  "  ninepence 
a  dozen,"  "  two  and  eleven  the  gross,"  "  quite 
a  novelty,"  and  "  I  assure  you,  Miss  Purvis, 
that  the  paint  cannot  be  licked  off." 

"He  loves  her  not!"  she  muttered  at  last, 
in  despair.  "  It's  a'  up  a  gum-tree!  But  I  be- 
lieve he  micht  love  her,  if  she  jist  gi'ed  him  a 
wee  bit  encouragement.  I'll  ha'e  anither  squint 
at  them." 

Alas!  the  scene  that  met  her  gaze  was  not 
calculated  to  inspire  sentiment.  The  clean- 
shaven, rosy  gentleman  was  gravely  demon- 
strating to  the  lady  the  correct  method  of  work- 
ing the  latest  type  of  mechanical  nigger,  and 
the  lady  was  looking  on  as  though  her  whole 
future  depended  on  an  exact  knowledge  of  the 
mechanism. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !  "  sighed  Christina.  "  I  doot 
they're  ower  auld  for  true  love."  Their  age  had 
all  along  been  an  objection  in  her  estimation, 
though  she  had  not  yet  admitted  it  to  be  in- 
superable to  romance.  "Maybe  auntie's  no' 
really  carin' — her  an'  him  was  maybe  jist 
ha'ein'  a  wee  flurtation  to  theirsel's  the  last 
time  he  was  here.  Oh,  my!  but  ma  feet  is 
cauld!" 

She  returned  to  the  fire,  and  over  a  novelette 
tried  to  imagine  herself  dispensing  a  love- 
potion — whatever  that  might  be — to  the  indif- 
ferent couple. 

The  shutting  of  the  shop  door  roused  her,  but 


94  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

she  kept  her  eyes  on  the  page  when  Miss  Pur- 
vis, a  little  pinker  than  usual,  came  in. 

"  Christina,  why  haven't  you  changed  your 
stockings?  " 

"  They're  no'  wat,  auntie.  Baldyin's  in  an 
awfu'  hurrv  the  dav,  surelv.    Eh  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Baldwin  had  to  hasten  back  to  Kinlo- 
chan  to  catch  the  steamer  from  there.  He  asked 
very  kindly  for  you,  Christina." 

"Did  he?" 

Miss  Purvis  lifted  the  kettle  from  the  hob 
and  carried  it  to  the  sink. 

"  I'll  mak'  the  tea,  auntie,  in  a  meenute,"  said 
Christina.    "  Jist  wait  till  I  feenish  this  page." 

"What  is  it  you  are  reading?  I'm  sure 
you'll  be  glad  when  the  holidays  are  over," 
Miss  Purvis  remarked  pleasantly.  "  I'm  afraid 
you  are  reading  too  many  of  these  trashy  nov- 
elettes at  present." 

"  Ye  read  them  yerseP,"  retorted  Christina. 
"  I've  seen  ye  greetin'  ower  them." 

"  You  are  too  young  for  such  things,"  said 
Miss  Purvis  severely.  "  What  are  you  read- 
ing? The  May  fair  Novelist.  Why,  that's  the 
worst  of  them  all.    You " 

"  The  last  number's  a  corker !  It's  "—here 
Christina  looked  hard  at  her  aunt — "  it's  a  tale 
o'  love  an'  passion!" 

"  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis  coldly, 
"there's  a  hole  in  your  stocking." 

"  I  ken.  Hoo  could  get  ma  foot  in  if  there 
was  nae  hole?" 


"  OWER  AULD  FOR  LOVE  "         95 

"  You  are  a  very  rude  girl !  " 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  Christina  murmured  in  a  tired 
voice.  "  Did  ye  ask  Baldyin  if  he  was  sea-seeck 
in  the  boat?"  she  inquired  abruptly. 

Miss  Purvis  reddened.     "  Really,  Christina !  " 

"  I  beg  your  paurdon,  auntie."  The  girl's 
voice  was  apologetic,  but  to  herself  she  was 
saying,  "  She  loves  him — some.  I'll  ha'e  to  see 
Baldyin  masel'  next  time — in  private." 


XI 

THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK 

CHRISTINA  entered  the  shop  and  flung 
her  bag  of  school-books  into  a  corner,  re- 
marking that  she  was  awful  glad  it  was 
Friday. 

"  That  is  not  the  proper  way  to  treat  your 
good  books,"  said  her  aunt  mildly.  "  Books 
should  be  treated  with  care  and  respect." 

Christina  smiled.  "  Like  the  books  you  had 
when  you  was  at  the  schule,"  she  returned. 
"  Like  yer  auld  grammar,  wi'  the  front  pages 
tore  oot  an'  drawin'  o'  wee  men  on  near  every 
page.    Eh,  auntie?" 

Any  reply  of  Miss  Purvis  was  prevented  by 
the  entrance  of  a  small  boy,  who  slammed  a 
copper  on  the  counter  and  demanded  "  a  pen- 
ny's worth  'o  sling  elastic." 

"  I  do  not  keep  elastic  for  catapults,  my  boy," 
said  Miss  Purvis  gravely. 

"  Oh,  d'ye  no'  ?  Aw,  weel,  gi'e's  a  ha'p'ny 
pea-shooter." 

"  I  do  not  keep  pea-shooters." 

The  small  boy  looked  disgusted  as  well  as 
disappointed. 

"  Catapults  and  pea-shooters  are  very  dan- 
gerous  things,"  the  spinster   said  in   solemn 

96 


THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK  97 

tones.  "  You  might  put  somebody's  eye  out, 
you  know." 

The  small  boy  grinned,  picked  up  his  penny, 
and  retired.  At  the  door,  however,  he  halted. 
With  a  wink  to  Christina,  he  put  the  question — 

"  D'ye  keep  gum  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  pleasantly  replied  Miss  Purvis. 

"  Weel,  stick  to  it ! "  he  cried,  and  disap- 
peared. 

"  That,"  said  Miss  Purvis  indignantly,  "  is 
the  most  impertinent  boy  in  Kilmabeg." 

"  I'll  warm  his  ears  the  first  time  I  catch 
him,"  said  Christina.  "  But  a'  the  same, 
auntie,  ye  should  keep  elastic  an'  pea-shooters. 
That's  the  tenth  boy " 

"  I  will  never  be  a  party  to  the  maiming  of 
my  fellow  creatures  and  dumb  animals,  Chris- 
tina. I  have  never  kept  elastic  for  catapults, 
nor  pea-shooters,  and  I  never  intend  to  do  so." 

"  Weel,  ye're  jist  throwin'  away  guid  custom. 
I  wud  advise  ye  to  gi'e  Baldyin  an  order  when 
he  comes  the  day  for  three  yards  o' " 

"  You  must  allow  me  to  manage  my  own 
business,  Christina." 

"  Hooch,  ay !    Keep  yer  hair  on !  " 

"  Christina  !     I  cannot  permit " 

"  Oh,  weel,  let  it  off  then.  But  ye're  no'  hauf 
up  to  date,  auntie.  What's  the  use  o'  keepin'  a 
shope,  if  ye  dinna  stock  what's  wantit?  Ye're 
no'  as  faur  behind  the  times  as  ye  was  when  I 
first  cam'  here,  but  there's  plenty  o'  things  still 
ye  could  sell,  if  ye  had  them." 


98  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  That  will  do,  Christina.    You  must " 

"  I'm  sure  I've  pit  ye  on  to  heaps  o'  things 
that  ha'e  selled  like  winkin'.  D'ye  no'  mind 
when  I  pit  ye  on  to  peevers?  Ye  hadna  a 
peever  in  the  shope  when  I  cam'  here,  and  since 
then  ye've  selled  dizzens." 

"  Sold,  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis.  "  When 
will  you  learn  to  speak  correctly?  Yes,  I  am 
quite  aware  that  you  have  made  a  number  of 
useful  suggestions  for  the  shop,  my  dear.  At 
the  same  time,  there  are  certain  things  which 
nothing  would  induce  me  to  keep " 

"  Oh,  there  the  boat  comin' ! "  cried  the  girl, 
and  bolted  into  the  back  room,  where  she  spent 
some  minutes  in  washing  her  hands  and  face, 
tidying  her  hair,  and  exchanging  her  old  hat 
for  her  Sunday  one.  She  wished  that  she  could 
have  changed  her  rough  boots  for  her  neat  Sun- 
day ones,  but  calculated  that  she  could  not 
spare  the  time. 

On  her  reappearance  in  the  shop  Miss  Purvis 
looked  up  from  the  ledger. 

"Are  you  going  out,  Christina?  Why  have 
you  put  on  your  good  hat?" 

"  It's  needin'  the  fresh  air,  auntie,  an'  ma 
latest  mash  prefers  it." 

"Your  what?" 

"  Ma  adorin'  swine — ma  lovey-dovey  young 
man !  Ye  needna  sit  up  for  me.  Ta-ta !  Love 
an'  kisses  to  Baldyin." 

Miss  Purvis  opened  her  mouth,  but  no  words 
came. 


THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK  99 

With  a  friendly  wave  of  her  hand  and  a 
bright  smile  Christina  skipped  from  the  shop, 
whereupon  Miss  Purvis  sighed  heavily,  and 
asked  herself  what  on  earth  she  was  to  do  with 
her  niece. 

"  I  fear  the  child  requires  a  stronger  hand 
than  mine,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  Goodness 
knows  I  have  tried  hard  to  improve  her  speech 
and  manners,  but  they  seem  to  grow  worse  than 
better.  .  .  .  And  yet  it  would  be  dreadfully 
dull  now  without  her."  Once  more  she  sighed 
heavily,  and  bent  over  the  ledger. 

On  the  road  in  front  of  the  shop  Christina 
halted  and  watched  the  steamer  being  warped 
to  the  pier.  Presently  the  gangway  was  laid 
aboard,  and  among  the  few  persons  who  crossed 
it  she  descried  the  burly  form  of  Mr.  Baldwin. 
She  smiled  in  a  satisfied  fashion,  and  turned 
away  in  the  opposite  direction. 

"  I'll  gi'e  him  till  five  o'clock,"  she  thought, 
"  an'  then  I'll  catch  him  when  he's  gaun  back 
to  the  pier." 

Passing  through  the  straggling  village  she 
came  to  the  open  road  by  the  loch-side.  She 
seated  herself  on  an  ancient  bench,  whereon 
countless  names  and  initials  had  been  cut  by 
natives  and  strangers.  It  was  a  fine,  mild 
afternoon,  and  Christina,  having  found  a  piece 
of  toffee  in  her  pocket,  placed  it  in  her  mouth 
and  looked  sentimentally  at  the  still,  blue 
water.  The  last  novelette  she  had  read  had 
been  about  a  young  duke  who  had  loved  a  gov- 


100  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

erness  and,  after  numerous  troubles,  married 
her.  It  was  not  so  difficult  to  think  of  her 
aunt  as  a  governess,  but  somehow  Mr.  Baldwin 
would  not  be  a  duke  for  more  than  two  seconds 
at  a  time.  Visions  of  jumping-jacks  and  other 
juvenile  joys  came  in  the  way.  Nevertheless, 
Christina's  imagination  carried  her  to  the 
point  where  Mr.  Baldwin  sank  on  one  knee  and 
imprinted  burning  kisses  on  the  taper  fingers 
of  Miss  Purvis;  and  imagination  might  have 
carried  her  even  further,  had  it  not  been  inter- 
rupted by  a  loud  snigger  and  the  question — 

"  Haw,  Teeny !  What's  the  price  o'  yer  far- 
den  dolls?" 

The  unseemly  interruption  was  made  by  the 
small  boy  who  had  insulted  her  aunt  not  half- 
an-hour  ago.  He  was  accompanied  by  another 
small  boy. 

Recovering  herself,  Christina  gave  both  a 
haughty  stare. 

"  Has  yer  auntie  stuck  to  her  gum  yet, 
Teeny?"  inquired  the  first  small  boy,  whereat 
his  friend  guffawed  very  loudly. 

She  sprang  up  and  made  at  the  nearest  boy, 
but  she  was  too  late,  and  the  pair  fled,  yelling 
with  laughter. 

"Wait  till  I  catch  ye,  Jimsie  M'Phee!"  she 
shouted   wrathfully.     "  Jist  you   wait !  " 

Mockery  answered  her  threats,  and  she  was 
fain  to  give  chase,  but  restrained  herself  and 
resumed  her  seat,  where  for  some  time  thoughts 
of  revenge   possessed   her   mind  to  the  utter 


THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK         101 

exclusion  of  romantic  imaginings.  Finally, 
however,  she  soothed  her  soul  with  a  quotation 
from  one,  or  perhaps  more,  of  the  novels  she 
had  recently  read :  "  Mark  ye,  wretch !  My 
turn  will  come! " 

Mr.  Baldwin,  who  was  in  the  stationery  as 
well  as  the  toy  "  line,"  had  another  customer 
besides  Miss  Purvis  in  Kilmabeg,  to  wit  the 
"  general  merchant,"  and  it  was  shortly  after 
he  left  the  latter's  shop  that  Christina  met  him. 
vShe  intended  to  exhibit  great  surprise  on  see- 
ing him,  and  with  that  idea  she  approached 
him,  keeping  her  gaze  fixed  on  the  cock  on  the 
parish  church  steeple.  Unfortunately,  when 
within  a  few  yards  of  him  her  foot  caught  on 
a  loose  stone,  and  she  narrowly  escaped  a  fall. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !  "  she  muttered  crossly,  put- 
ting back  her  hat,  which  had  been  jerked  over 
her  nose,  while  it  occurred  to  her  that,  had  she 
been  a  real  heroine,  she  would  have  sprained 
her  ankle. 

"Why,  Christina!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Baldwin, 
setting  down  his  sample  cases.  "  That  was  a 
squeak!  How  are  you?  I  was  afraid  I  was 
going  to  miss  you  again  as  I  did  last  month." 

They  shook  hands,  and  Christina  could  not 
remember  the  polite  remarks  she  had  meant 
to  make. 

"  Are  you  going  to  give  me  your  company 
to  the  pier?"  Mr.  Baldwin  inquired,  picking 
up  his  cases. 


102  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina  had  intended  to  say,  "  With  pleas- 
ure," but  she  merely  murmured,  "  Uh-ha ! " 

"  Come  along,  then,"  he  returned  cheerfully. 
"  I  think  the  boat  is  about  due.  I  was  glad  to 
see  your  aunt  looking  so  well  to-day." 

"  Did  she  give  ye  an  order  for  sling-elastic 
and  pea-shooters?" 

"No!  did  she  intend  to?" 

"  Ah,  weel,"  said  the  girl,  resisting  tempta- 
tion, "  we'll  see  aboot  them  the  next  time  ye 
come.  How's  business?"  In  talking  to  Mr. 
Baldwin  she  endeavoured  to  speak  as  much 
like  her  aunt  as  possible,  though,  to  be  sure, 
it  was  rather  difficult. 

"  Business  is  not  so  bad  as  I've  seen  it,"  he 
replied.     "And  how  is  school?" 

"  Rotten ! — I  mean  to  say  it's  most  disagree- 
able.    I  would  rather  be  workin'  in  the  shop." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  checking  a  laugh ;  "  but 
you'll  get  plenty  of  the  shop  in  good  time. 
Miss  Purvis  tells  me  you  are  becoming  a  great 
reader,  but " 

"  Ay !     I'm  a  demon  for  readin' !     So  is  she." 

"  But  she  seems  to  be  afraid  that  you  do  not 
care  for  the  best — er — literature." 

"  I  like  stories  aboot  love,"  said  Christina, 
with  a  stealthy  glance.     "  So  does  she." 

"  Quite  so.  But  there  are  different  kinds 
of  love  stories.  Now,  I  think  you  should  allow 
your  aunt  to  choose  your  reading  in  the  mean- 
time.    What  do  you  think,  Christina?" 

Christina  thought  it  very  disappointing  that 


THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK         103 

he  had  not  blushed  at  the  mention  of  the  word 
"  love,"  but  she  only  said,  "  Uk-ha!  " 

"  That's  right !  "  returned  Mr.  Baldwin,  and 
was  about  to  change  the  subject  when  she  in- 
quired whether  he  liked  love  stories. 

He  laughed,  remarking  that  he  was  rather 
old  for  that  sort  of  thing,  just  as  Christina 
was  rather  young. 

"  Ye're  no'  that  auld,"  said  she. 

"How  old  do  you  think  I  am?" 

"  Fifty-three,"  she  guessed  wildly. 

"  Oh  no ;  I'm  not  quite  that  age — nearly  ten 
years  younger." 

"  That's  no'  sae  bad.  Hoo  long  ha'e  ye  been 
comin'  to  Kilmabeg,  Mr.  Baldwin?" 

"  Eight  years,  at  least." 

Christina  suppressed  a  sigh.  She  had  often 
wanted  to  ask  her  aunt  that  question,  but  had 
never  ventured.  Eight  years!  Love  at  any- 
thing like  first  sight  was  now  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

"  I  was  readin'  a  bewtiful  love  story  last 
night,"  she  said,  with  an  effort.  "  It  was  aboot 
a  bewtiful  girl  that  had  bewtiful  golden  hair." 
Here  she  remembered  that  her  aunt's  hair  was 
no  particular  shade  of  brown.  "  But  it  wasna 
the  colour  that  was  sae  bewtiful.  It  was  the 
length.  When  the  bad  man  in  the  story  seized 
her  alibaster  arm  an'  hissed  in  her  ears,  the 
bewtiful  hair  fell  in  a  shinin'  cascage  to  her 
knees,  an'  she  said  she  would  wait  for  the  man 
she  loved — he  was  in  the  lock-up  for  not  killin' 


104  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

another  man — she  said  she  would  wait  for 
him  till  she  was  old  an'  grey.  An'  I  dare  say 
she  would  ha'e  waited  if  she  had  needit  to." 
Christina  came  to  a  sudden  stop.  She  had 
meant  to  show  that  the  happiness  of  marriage 
was  not  necessarily  confined  to  youth,  and  that 
love  was  possible  at  any  age;  but  the  task  now 
seemed  utterly  beyond  her.  Besides,  the  story 
seemed  to  have  lost  its  point.  She  felt  hot 
and  miserable,  and  was  relieved  to  observe  the 
steamer  nearing  the  pier. 

Mr.  Baldwin  may  have  seen  the  moral, 
though  not  the  point,  of  the  tale,  and  he  said 
pleasantly,  holding  out  his  hand — 

"  Well,  Christina,  you  must  tell  me  the  rest 
another  time.  But  don't  read  too  many  love 
stories.  Now,  good-bye.  I  left  some  sweets 
for  you  with  Miss  Purvis.  See  you  next 
month,  I  hope." 

Christina  turned  away,  feeling  that  she  had 
made  a  fool  of  herself,  and  walked  slowly  and 
dejectedly  home. 

"  I  doot  there's  naethin'  in  it,"  she  told  her- 
self. 

As  she  drew  near  the  shop  Jimsie  M'Phee 
and  his  companion  peeped  from  an  entry  and 
jeered. 

"Is  yer  auntie  stickin'  yet?" 

Christina,  trembling  with  rage,  rushed  into 
the  shop. 

"Is  that  you,  dear?"  her  aunt  called  from 
the  back-room.     "  Tea  is  nearly  ready." 


THE  GUM  THAT  STUCK         105 

"  I'll  be  back  in  a  nieenute,"  she  replied, 
panting,  as  she  went  behind  the  counter.  She 
did  not  remain  there  long,  but  after  doing 
something  that  made  a  faint  crackling  sound, 
she  went  to  the  door  of  the  shop  and  looked 
out.  Jimsie  M'Phee  was  still  there  in  the 
entry,  his  back  towards  her.  Creeping  cau- 
tiously along  the  wall,  holding  something  very 
carefully  in  her  left  hand,  she  reached  the 
unsuspecting  boy  and  whipped  his  cap  from 
his  head. 

Then  she  ran  swiftly  along  the  road,  and  as 
she  slackened  her  pace  at  last  she  contrived  to 
empty  the  contents  of  a  penny  bottle  of  gum 
into  the  cap. 

Then  she  halted,  and  Jimsie,  furious,  came 
up  with  her. 

"  Gi'e  me  ma  bunnet !  "  he  yelled. 

"  There  yer  bunnet ! "  she  screeched,  and 
clapped  it  on  his  head. 

She  reached  home  short  of  breath,  but  full 
of  satisfaction.  Romance  was  all  very  well  in 
its  way. 


XII 
"  BACKWARD  IN  COMING  FORWARD  " 

ON  fine  Sunday  afternoons  Christina 
usually  went  for  a  walk  with  her  friend 
Jessie  Ann  M'Kirdy,  the  daughter  of 
the  local  postmistress.  Jessie  Ann,  who  was 
Christina's  senior  by  eighteen  months,  had  just 
got  a  new  Sunday  frock — a  blue  print,  so  long 
that  its  hem  touched  the  tops  of  her  boots. 
She  wore  her  black  hair  tied  back  with  a  bow, 
and  altogether  she  appeared  almost  grown-up 
to  the  younger  girl.  Christina  was,  perhaps,  a 
little  envious,  but,  at  the  same  time,  she  was 
heartily  proud  of  her  acquaintance  with  Jessie 
Ann. 

"  D'ye  think  we'll  see  him  the  day,  Jessie 
Ann  ?  "  she  inquired,  as  they  met  on  the  last 
Sunday  in  June. 

"  See  who?  "  said  Jessie  Ann  very  carelessly. 

"  Him.     Ye  ken  who  I  mean." 

Jessie  Ann  ignored  the  remark,  and  turned 
her  steps  in  the  direction  unexpected  by  her 
companion. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Christina,  "  are  we  no'  gaun  tip 
the  loch  the  day?" 

"What  for?" 

"  Oh,  jist  because  it's — nicer  up  the  loch." 

106 


«  BACKWARD  "  107 

Jessie  Ann  halted  and  looked  reflectively  at 
the  sky.  "  Oh,  weel,  onything  to  please  ye," 
she  said  at  last. 

Although  she  was  wearing  her  neat  shoes 
and  best  stockings,  the  shortness  of  her  skirts 
gave  Christina  considerable  dissatisfaction. 
She  had  the  depressing  suspicion  that  Jessie 
Ann  was  growing  to  regard  her  as  a  child,  and 
even  the  thought  of  her  own  five  gorgeous  hat- 
pins, borrowed  from  the  shop,  failed  to  sustain 
her  self-confidence. 

Kilmabeg  was  beginning  to  receive  its  sum- 
mer residents,  people  who  had  by  no  means 
left  their  "  good  clothes  "  at  home ;  and  those 
who  had  not  too  freely  enjoyed  their  early 
dinners  were  taking  the  sun  and  air  by  the 
loch-side. 

"  Oh,  what  a  beautiful  hat!"  said  Christina, 
with  a  desperate  idea  of  breaking  the  oppres- 
sive silence. 

"What?  Miss  Ferguson's?  That's  her  last 
year's  done  up  again.  I  mind  the  shape  fine. 
Last  year  it  was  turned  up  an'  had  grass  on  it. 
She  has  jist  turned  it  doon  an'  put  roses  on 
instead  o'  the  grass.  Ye  would  think  folk 
that  took  a  big  hoose  like  Burnbrae  would  be 
able  to  get  new  hats,"  said  Jessie  Ann.  "  That 
hat  o'  Miss  Grogan's  is  no'  sae  bad,  but  it 
doesna  suit  a  fat  face  like  hers.  What  dae 
ye  think  o'  her  costume,  Teeny?"  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  Jessie  had  ideas  of  becoming  a 
dressmaker. 


108  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Oh,  it's  lovely !  "  cried  Christina,  delighted 
that  the  silence  was  broken. 

"  It  wud  be  lovely  if  the  skirt  didna  drag, 
an'  if  she  didna  waddle.  I  hear  she's  gotten 
a  young  man,  a'  the  same." 

"  Oh !  "  murmured  Christina.  "  A  young 
man ! " 

"  Ay ;  the  servant-girl  was  tellin'  me.  He's 
comin'  to  Kilmabeg  for  next  week-end.  But 
he's  no'  much  to  look  at,  I  believe." 

Christina,  who  thought  that  all  lovers  were 
good  to  look  at,  felt  rather  chilled,  but  said 
nothing. 

Jessie  Ann  continued  to  criticise — favour- 
ablv  or  severelv — other  examples  of  dressmak- 
ing  and  millinery  on  the  road,  until  they 
reached  a  bench  placed  on  the  turf  bordering 
the  shore.  Here  thev  seated  themselves,  Jessie 
Ann  arranging  her  skirts  with  elaborate  care, 
while  Christina  wriggled  as  though  trying  to 
shrink  within  hers. 

Having  settled  herself  at  last,  the  elder  girl 
proceeded  to  smooth  the  fingers  of  her  gloves, 
glancing  occasionally  up  the  loch,  at  the  head 
of  which  a  steamer  was  moored.  The  younger 
followed  her  glances,  but  repressed  the  question 
which  the  sight  of  the  steamer  suggested — the 
question  which  seemed  to  have,  in  some  way, 
offended  her  friend  at  the  beginning  of  the 
walk. 

Jessie  Ann  was  not,  as  a  rule,  given  to 
sedateness,    but    after   she   had    sat   in   utter 


"  BACKWARD  "  109 

silence  for  some  twenty  minutes  Christina 
realized  that  some  great  change  must  have 
taken  place,  and  wondered  vaguely  if  the  long 
skirts  had  aught  to  do  with  it. 

And  then,  of  a  sudden,  it  flashed  on  her  that 
Jessie  Ann  might,  after  all,  be  in  love.  For 
several  Sundays  she  had  violently  hoped  that 
Jessie  Ann  ivas  in  love,  but  the  latter's  ap- 
parent disinclination  to  walk  up  the  loch  on 
this  particular  afternoon  had  made  her  put 
away  the  happy  thought.  But  now  it  came 
back  to  her.  Perhaps  Jessie  Ann  had  only 
been  pretending  when  she  started  to  walk  the 
other  way.  Christina  had  read  of  people  pre- 
tending all  sorts  of  things  when  they  were  in 
love,  and  of  people's  natures  being  entirely 
altered. 

Oh,  if  only  he  would  come  down  the  loch,  as 
he  had  done  on  each  of  the  last  Sunday  after- 
noons!    Then  she  might  discover  the  truth. 

Christina  knew  that  Jessie  Ann  would  not 
be  fifteen  till  September,  and  she  had  never 
read  of  any  one  being  in  love  under  sixteen; 
but  she  would  not  allow  any  doubts  to  inter- 
fere with  the  re-arisen  hope,  and  she  fell  to 
guessing  his  age  and  to  wondering  how  long 
it  would  be  before  he  declared  his  passion. 

So  far  he  had  only  got  the  length  of  once 
purchasing  a  penny  stamp  from  Jessie  Ann 
while  her  mother  was  engaged  in  chastizing 
one  of  the  younger  children  for  putting  stones 
in  the  letter-box :  but  since  then  he  had  always 


110  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

raised  his  cap  on  passing  the  girls,  and  Chris- 
tina, though  she  had  giggled  involuntarily  at 
these  exciting  moments,  had  dreamed  after- 
wards of  love  at  first  sight. 

Jessie  Ann,  having  removed  one  of  her 
gloves,  was  feeling  the  bow  on  her  hair,  when 
Christina  suddenly  nudged  her. 

"  Don't !  "  said  Jessie  Ann  sharply. 

"  I  see  him  comin' !  "  whispered  Christina, 
quite  unable  to  control  herself. 

"  See  who  comin'?"  asked  Jessie  Ann,  with 
some  irritation  and  a  sidelong  glance  up  the 
road.     "  Ye've  an  elbow  like  a  pick-axe." 

"  I  didna  mean  to  hurt  ye,"  said  Christina 
humbly. 

"  Weel,  dinna  jab  me  like  that  again,  Teeny," 
the  other  returned,  more  gently.  Then  she 
glanced  at  her  skirts,  drew  in  her  feet,  touched 
the  rose  at  her  young  breast,  and  began  to  put 
on  her  glove. 

The  junior  purser  of  the  steamer  came 
swinging  along  the  road.  He  was  youthful, 
and  exceedingly  smart  in  his  serge  suit  and 
white-roofed  yachting-cap.  A  pleasant,  sun- 
tanned countenance  was  his,  and  altogether 
he  reminded  Christina  of  the  young  naval  hero 
in  the  last  number  but  two  of  the  Park  Lane 
Novelist.  The  young  naval  hero,  too,  had 
fallen  in  love  at  first  sight,  and  at  the  thought 
thereof  the  girl  quivered  with  anticipations 
of  she  knew  not  what.    Had  the  junior  purser 


"BACKWARD"  111 

rushed  forward  then  and  there  and  flung  him- 
self at  Jessie  Ann's  feet,  Christina  would  prob- 
ably have  been  more  thrilled  than  surprised. 

The  junior  purser,  however,  did  nothing  of 
a  thrilling  nature.  As  he  drew  near  he  pro- 
duced and  lit  a  cigarette,  slackening  his  pace 
while  he  did  so. 

Christina  glanced  at  her  friend.  The  latter 
was  staring  fixedly  and  solemnly  in  front  of 
her. 

Christina  clasped  her  hands  together  very 
tightly — so  tightly  that  one  of  her  gloves, 
which  Miss  Purvis  had  repaired  the  previous 
evening,  rent  with  a  faint  crack;  at  the  same 
time  her  right  leg  began  to  curl  round  her  left. 
She  was  holding  herself  together;  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  she  felt  as  if  she  might  burst  at  any 
moment.  Without  intending  to  do  so,  she 
emitted  a  squeak  and  drove  her  elbow  into 
her  companion's  ribs. 

"  Be  quiet ! "  muttered  Jessie  Ann,  in  an 
awful  voice. 

"  I — I  didna  mean  it." 

"  Be  quiet !  " 

Christina  became  quiet,  except  for  her 
breathing. 

The  junior  purser  threw  away  the  spent 
match  with  careless  grace,  and  strode  forward. 
It  looked  almost  as  if  he  were  not  going  to 
observe  them  at  all — but  Christina  had  read 
that  Love  was  blind.  At  the  same  time  she 
wondered   whether  it  would   be  advisable  to 


112  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

drop  her  handkerchief,  which  she  reflected 
gladly  was  a  clean  one;  she  might  drop  it  so 
that  it  should  appear  to  be  Jessie  Ann's. 

She  glanced  inquiringly  at  her  friend,  and 
just  at  that  moment  her  friend's  head  fell  and 
rose  in  precisely  the  way  that  the  doctor's 
wife's  head  fell  and  rose  when  the  doctor's 
wife  passed  the  laird's  wife  in  the  latter's 
motor. 

Christina's  eyes  leapt  back  to  the  junior 
purser.  He  was  replacing  his  hat  on  his  head 
with  one  hand  and  his  cigarette  in  his  mouth 
with  the  other.  But  she  could  not  tell  whether 
the  "  love-light "  was  in  his  eyes.  He  seemed, 
however,  to  redden. 

She  lost  command  of  herself. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica ! "  she  exclaimed,  and  snig- 
gered helplessly.     And  was  instantly  ashamed. 

Had  she  had  courage  to  look  she  would  have 
seen  that  Jessie  Ann's  face  was  a  prey  to 
blushes,  though  Jessie  Ann  remained  rigid. 

Jessie  Ann  had  made  her  first  real  bow  to 
a  member  of  the  opposite  sex. 

The  junior  purser  disappeared  round  a  bend 
in  the  road. 

Then  Jessie  Ann  spoke. 

"Can  ye  no'  behave  yersel'?"  she  asked,  in 
an  unkind  voice. 

"  I  couldna  help  it,"  Christina  murmured. 
"  I — I  thocht  he  was  gaun  to  speak  to  ye." 

"  He  wouldna  be  likely  to  speak  to  me  when 
you  was  there." 


"BACKWARD"  113 

"Oh!"     It  was  all  Christina  had  to  say. 
She  got  up  and  walked  away. 

"  Here,  Teeny,  eome  back ! "  called  Jessie 
Ann,  relenting.     "  I  was  jist  jokin'." 

Christina  may  not  have  heard. 

The  other  ran  after  her  and  caught  her 
arm. 

"  Dinna  be  huffy,  Teeny." 

"  I'm  no'  huffy." 

"  What  are  ye,  then  ?  " 

"  I'm  vexed." 

"What  for?" 

"  For  spiling  yer  chance,  Jessie  Ann,"  said 
Christina,  in  a  choked  voice. 

"  Oh !  "  said  Jessie  Ann,  taken  aback. 

"  I  kep'  him  frae  speakin'  to  ye.  Oh,  I  wish 
I  hadna  come  wi'  ye  the  day." 

Jessie  Ann  hardly  knew  what  to  say.  She 
had  never  really  thought  of  the  junior  purser 
speaking  to  her.  Still,  perhaps  Teeny  was 
right ;  certainly  he  might  have  spoken  had 
Teeny  not  been  present.  A  new  sense  of  im- 
portance came  to  her. 

"  Aweel,"  said  she  at  last,  possibly  a  trifle 
patronizingly,  "  we'll  no'  say  ony  mair  aboot 
it.  But  ye  maun  try  no'  to  giggle  the  next 
time,  Teeny.  Young  men  dinna  like  to  be 
giggled  at." 

Christina  did  not  remind  her  friend  that  she 
also  had  giggled  the  previous  Sunday,  but 
squeezed  her  friend's  arm  and  promised  sol- 
emnly never  to  giggle  as  long  as  she  lived. 


114  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

They  returned  to  the  seat,  better  friends 
than  ever. 

After  a  long  silence  Christina  remarked 
shyly,  "  Maybe  we'll  meet  him  on  the  road  back, 
Jessie  Ann." 

Jessie  Ann  tossed  her  head. 

"  I'm  no'  in  the  habit  o'  rnnnin'  efter  men," 
she  said  haughtily.  "  I  intend  for  to  gang 
back  the  high  road." 

Christina  regarded  her  with  admiration.  It 
was  almost  exactly  what  one  of  her  recent 
heroines  had  done,  though,  to  be  sure,  the  hero- 
ine had  met  the  hero  after  all. 

"  Ay ;  I  dare  say  it's  best  to  be  coy,"  she 
murmured  softly. 

"  What  d'ye  mean  by  '  coy  '?  " 

"  Oh,  weel,"  stammered  the  reader  of  novel- 
ettes, "  I  think  it  means  kin'  o'  backward  in 
cornin'  forward,  forbye  pretendin'  ye  dinna 
care  a  snuff  when  ye're  jist  dyin'  for  him." 

"  But  'm  no'  dyin'  for  onybody.  I  never 
seen  the  man  yet  I  would  die  for." 

"  Oh,  but  ye  can  never  tell  beforehand," 
Christina  said  sagely.  "  I  believe  it  whiles 
comes  on  ye  like  a  blot  from  the  blue,"  she 
went  on  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  carried  away  by 
her  feelings,  "  an'  ye  canna  resist  the  passion- 
ate vowels  o'  the  adorin'  swine.     An'  then " 

"  Oh,  mercy !  "  cried  Jessie  Ann.  "  What's 
this  ye're  sayin'  aboot  roarin'  swines  an'  blue 
blotsV  " 

"  Maybe  ye'll  ken  some  day,"  said  Christina, 


"BACKWARD"  115 

with  much  seriousness.  Then,  earnestly,  "  Oh, 
Jessie  Ann,  what  wud  ye  say  if — if  he  pro- 
posed to  ye?  " 

"  Och,  come  on  hame,  Teeny,"  the  elder  girl 
returned  quickly,  but  not  the  least  crossly. 
She  jumped  up,  and  Christina  followed. 

They  traversed  the  greater  part  of  the  little- 
used  high  road  in  silence  and  without  meeting 
any  one  until  they  rounded  a  sharp  bend,  when, 
behold ! 

There,  on  the  edge  of  the  moor,  reclined  the 
junior  purser — and  not  alone.  Beside  him  sat 
a  dainty  damsel  of  some  eighteen  summers,  a 
vistor  to  Kilmabeg,  into  whose  pretty  mouth 
he  was,  at  the  moment,  engaged  in  popping 
pink  aromatic  lozenges.  His  left  arm  was 
about  her  waist. 

An  inarticulate  sound  came  from  Christina; 
for  an  instant  she  halted  as  though  to  turn  and 
flee.  But  she  took  her  cue  from  Jessie  Ann, 
and  the  two  girls  marched  past  the  pair  with 
burning  cheeks  and  elevated  noses.  To  Chris- 
tina it  was  like  a  bad  dream. 

Jessie  Ann  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  That  was  why  I  took  ye  up  the  high  road," 
she  said,  with  something  like  an  effort. 

Christina  gaped  at  her  friend. 

"  Of  course  I  kent  fine  he  was  mashin'  her," 
pursued  Jessie  Ann. 

Christina  gaped  a  little  more  widely  if  any- 
thing. 

"  She's  been  tryin'  for  to  catch  him  since  she 


116  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

cam'  here  at  the  beginnin'  o'  the  month.  It's 
awf u'  funny — eh,  Teeny  ?  "  And  Jessie  Ann 
laughed  loudly. 

To  oblige  her  friend  the  younger  girl  forced 
a  dismal  cackle. 

"  Catch  me  dressin'  up  an'  runnin'  efter  a 
man ! "  said  the  elder,  and  shortly  afterwards 
changed  the  subject  by  asking  Christina  if  she 
liked  pancakes  with  jam. 

Later  Miss  Purvis  and  her  niece  went,  as 
was  their  custom,  to  evening  service.  In  the 
course  of  his  sermon  the  minister  put  the 
question,  "What  is  Truth?" 

Christina  wondered — with  special  reference 
to  Love.  She  fell  asleep  that  night,  still 
wondering. 


XIII 

THE  MAGIC  POTION 

"AUNTIE,  what's  a  poti-on?" 
ZX        It  was  nearly  bed-time,  and  for  the 
**■  last  hour  Miss  Purvis  and  her  niece  had 

been  sewing  in  silence.  Perhaps  Miss  Purvis 
had  been  drowsing,  perhaps  dreaming,  over 
her  seam;  at  all  events  she  started  at  the 
question. 

"What  did  you  say,  my  dear?" 

"I'm  askin'  ye,  what's  a  poti-on?" 

"  I'm  sure  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing, 
Christina,"   said   Miss   Purvis,   looking  blank. 

"  Is    it    something   you    have   been    reading 
about?" 

"  Uh-ha." 

"  Christina,   I   do  wish  you  would  not  use 
that  ugly  word." 

"  'Mphm,  then,"  said  Christina. 

"  Can't  you  say  yes  ?  " 

"  Ay — I  mean  yes.     But  what's  a  poti-on  ?  " 

"Can  you  spell  it?" 

"  POTION." 

"  Oh,   you   mean   'potion" 

"  I  thocht   it  was  poti-on,"  said  Christina, 

somewhat  annoyed.     "  Weel,  what's  a  potion, 

as  ve  ca'  it?" 

117 


118  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Suppose  you  look  it  up  in  the  dictionary," 
Miss  Purvis  returned  pleasantly. 

"D'ye  no'  ken?" 

"  Oil  yes ;  I  know  quite  well  what  the  word 
potion  means,  Christina;  but  it  will  help  you 
to  remember  if  you  see  the  meaning  in  print." 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !  "  muttered  Christina,  getting 
up  and  going  to  the  bookshelf.  "  What's  the 
use  o'  footerin'  aboot  a  stupit  auld  dictionary? 
I  say,  auntie,"  she  went  on,  with  a  twinkle  in 
her  eyes,  "you  tell  me  the  meanin',  an'  I'll  see 
if  ye're  correc'.     Eh?" 

Miss  Purvis  smilingly  shook  her  head.  "  I 
have  tried  that  way  before,  Christina,  and  you 
have  alwavs  said  vou  would  take  mv  word  for 
it.     Look  it  up,  my  dear." 

Christina  took  down  a  little  pocket  diction- 
ary and  came  back  to  her  seat. 

"  This  book's  daft,"  she  presently  declared. 
"  It  says  a  potion's  a  draught  or  a  liquid  med- 
dicine.  Hoo  can  a  thing  that  gi'es  ye  a  cold 
be " 

"  A  draught,  in  this  case,  is  another  name 
for  a  drink,"  explained  the  spinster.  "  So  now 
you  have  learned  two  new  words,  which  shows 
you  the  great  advantage  of  referring  to " 

"  An'  can  a  potion  be  naethin'  else  but  a 
drink  an'  a  meddicine?" 

"  Not  that  I  know  of.  Where  did  you  read 
about  it,  Christina  ?  " 

"  In  the  Sunday  Companion"  the  girl  re- 
plied, after  some  hesitation.    "  It  was  a  magic 


THE  MAGIC  POTION  119 

potion,"  she  continued  slowly,  without  looking 
at  her  aunt.  "  A  lass  got  it  frae  a — a  sosserer 
to  gi'e  to  a  young  man  that  wasna  heedin' 
aboot  her.  She  gi'ed  it  to  him,  an'  it  charmed 
him,  an'  afore  she  could  say  '  Jack  Robinson ' 
he  was  coortin'  her  like  fun,  an'  their  nuptails 

was    celebrated     in What's    a    nuptail, 

auntie?  " 

"  I  am  surprised  that  the  Sunday  Com- 
panion should  print  such  rubbish,"  said  Miss 
Purvis. 

"  Maybe  it  was  in  anither  paper.     But " 

"  No  matter.  It  is  sheer  nonsense,  and  I 
wish  you  would  read  something  sensible,  Chris- 
tina. There  are  no  such  things  as  magic  po- 
tions, or  sorcerers,  or " 

"  But  there's  sich  things  as  nuptails,  because 
I've  seen  it  printit  in  the  newspapers.  What's 
a " 

"  Hush,  Christina !     It  is  bed-time." 

"  But " 

"  No !  Put  these  foolish  ideas  out  of  your 
head  and  take  off  your  boots." 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  sighed  Christina  resignedly. 
But  she  was  not  convinced  by  her  aunt's  denial 
of  the  existence  of  sorcery. 

It  was  now  the  month  of  August,  yet  noth- 
ing had  happened  between  Mr.  Baldwin  and 
Miss  Purvis,  though  Mr.  Baldwin  on  his  last 
two  calls  had  given  Christina  more  cause  for 
hope  than  ever  he  had  done  before.  On  both 
occasions  he  had  lost  the  five  o'clock  steamer — 


120  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

purposely,  she  felt  sure — and  waited  till  the 
six  o'clock  one,  which  ran  only  in  the  summer. 
On  his  last  call  he  had  brought  Miss  Purvis  a 
beautiful  cake,  covered  all  over  with  icing  and 
pink  and  white  sugar,  and  as  he  presented  it 
he  had  grown  quite  red.  But  alas!  Miss 
Purvis  seemed  to  have  grown  colder  and  colder, 
and  had  received  the  cake  without  getting  the 
least  excited,  and  had  even  told  Mr.  Baldwin 
that  it  was  foolish  of  him  to  have  lost  the  five 
o'clock  steamer  when  the  later  one  was  such 
a  slow  one. 

Altogether  Christina  was  feeling  extremely 
dissatisfied,  and  was  ardently  wishing  herself 
living  in  the  days  when  magic  potions,  what- 
ever they  might  have  been,  were  obtainable — 
for  ladies  as  well  as  for  gentlemen. 

It  happened  that  the  Thursday  following  the 
foregoing  conversation  was  the  monthly  half- 
holiday  for  the  shop-keepers  of  Kilmabeg  and 
the  neighbouring  villages.  Miss  Purvis  did 
not,  as  a  rule,  recognize  such  half-holidays, 
but  on  this  occasion  she  closed  the  shop  at  two 
o'clock;  and  half-an-hour  later  she  and  Chris- 
tina took  a  steamer  to  the  little  town  across 
the  firth.  Miss  Purvis,  after  several  years  of 
hesitation,  had  decided  to  buy  herself  a  new 
"  best "  dress. 

Her  niece  had  rejoiced  at  the  decision,  but 
her  rejoicings  had  been  cut  short  by  Miss  Pur- 
vis, who  informed  her  that  on  no  account  would 


THE  MAGIC  POTION  121 

she  permit  her  to  be  present  at  the  choosing 
of  the  dress. 

"  No,  my  dear ;  it  is  no  use  your  asking.  I 
shall  never  forget  what  I  suffered  when  you 
helped  me  to  buy  a  hat " 

"  But  I  knocked  doon  the  price  for  ye, 
auntie." 

"  I  could  never  enter  that  shop  again.  Say 
no  more  about  it.  You  can  amuse  yourself 
looking  at  the  other  shops  while  I  am  engaged 
with  the  dressmaker." 

And  Christina  pled  in  vain.  She  was  not 
without  comfort,  however.  At  this  time  she 
was  the  possessor  of  a  shilling,  which  she  had 
earned  by  assisting  the  doctor's  wife  during  a 
brief  indisposition  of  the  latter's  maid. 

On  the  steamer  she  announced  her  intention 
of  "  bursting  "  .the  said  shilling  that  very  after- 
noon. 

"  I'm  on  for  a  reg'lar  jamboree,"  she  added. 

For  three  minutes  Miss  Purvis  spoke  se- 
riously, first  on  the  vulgarity  of  slang,  then  on 
the  folly  of  extravagance. 

"  Hooch,  ay !  "  said  Christina.  After  a  short 
pause  she  casually  observed — 

"  It's  a  guid  thing  Baldyin's  comin'  the  morn 
an'  no'  the  day.  It  wud  be  a  rare  suck  for 
him  to  come  an'  find  the  shop  shut.  Eh, 
auntie?  " 

"  Really,  Christina ! "  cried  Miss  Purvis,  in- 
dignantly. 

"  He  wud  think  ye  had  done  a  bunk." 


122  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  May  I  ask  what  you  mean  by  a  hunk,  Chris- 
tina?" 

"  A  slope.  My !  but  ye  ken  awfu'  few  words, 
auntie! " 

Miss  Purvis  groaned  and  turned  away. 

"  Are  ye  feelin'  seeck,  auntie  ? "  Christina 
inquired  in  a  sympathetic  voice.  "  Try  work- 
in'  yer  mooth  as  if  ye  was  eatin'  meat.  I  read 
that  that  was  guid  for  the  sea-seeckness. 
Never  heed  what  the  folk  think.  Turn  yer  face 
to  the  watter,  an'  they'll  no'  see  ye.  Noo,  try 
to  imagine  ye're  eatin'  something  tough-like, 
an'  chow  it  for  a'  ye're  worth " 

"  Christina,  if  you  say  another  word " 

"Oh,  mercy!"  Christina  exclaimed,  jumping 
up.     "  Thonder  a  boy  in  the  water ! " 

"  Oh,  dear ! "  Miss  Purvis  jumped  up  also, 
while  several  passengers  stared  in  alarm. 
"Where,  where?" 

"  Thonder — tied  to  thou  yacht,"  said  Chris- 
tina, with  a  calm  smile.  "  I  didna  think  ye 
was  sae  easy  catched,  auntie.  I'll  awa'  to  the 
neb  o'  the  boat.     See  ye  later.     So-long !  " 

Miss  Purvis  collapsed.  She  was  feeling  just 
a  little  seedy,  as  she  usually  did  on  steamers. 

Christina  greatly  enjoyed  looking  at  the 
shops  without  supervision  or  restriction.  She 
had  made  up  her  mind  to  purchase  a  gift  for 
her  aunt,  whose  birthday  fell  about  a  month 
later,  yet  though  she  saw  many  things  suitable, 
she  could  not  decide  on  any  one  of  them. 


THE  MAGIC  POTION  123 

Having  inspected  every  likely  window  in  the 
main  street,  she  turned  into  a  side  street.  But 
finding  there  no  shops  of  the  kind  desired,  she 
was  about  to  retrace  her  steps,  when  she  was 
arrested  by  the  sight  of  a  wig  on  a  waxen  scalp 
in  a  barber's  little  window. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica !  what  a  funny  thing ! "  she 
said  to  herself,  gazing  at  it.  Presently  her 
eves  began  to  wander  about  the  window,  the 
contents  of  which  were  deplorably  stale  and 
dusty.  They  looked  as  if  they  had  not  been 
touched  for  years,  which  was  probably  the  case. 

All  at  once  Christina  gave  a  little  jump  and 
drew  in  her  breath.  Then  her  gaze  became 
glued  to  some  object  in  the  left-hand  corner 
of  the  window.  The  colour  rushed  to  her  face 
and  faded  again.  Could  it — could  it  be  true, 
after  all? 

Five  minutes  later,  clutching  her  shilling, 
she  entered  the  shop. 

A  gaunt  elderly  man,  with  fearsome  black 
moustachios  and  a  sad  squint,  bounced  up  from 
behind  the  counter.  At  the  sight  of  him  Chris- 
tina could  scarce  keep  from  flight ;  yet  she  had 
expected  to  see  a  rather  a  terrifying  person. 

"Well,  miss?"  The  voice  was  soft  and 
polite — the  voice  of  one  who  had  known  better 
days — but  it  made  Christina  shudder. 

She  moistened  her  lips  and,  in  a  tremulous 
whisper,  said — 

"  I  want  a — a  potion." 

"A  lotion,  miss?" 


124  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  A  potion." 

"  A  lotion — for  the  hair?  "  He  smiled  dread- 
fully— so  it  seemed  to  Christina.  Once  more 
she  all  but  fled. 

"  A  potion,"  she  whispered  bravely.  "  What 
— what's  the  price  o'  yer — yer  Spirit  o'  Love?" 

The  man  looked  puzzled,  but  now  Christina 
was  sure  that  he  was  pretending.  He  could 
not,  or  would  not,  look  her  in  the  face.  He 
was  trying  her,  doubtless. 

"  It's  in  the  window,"  she  said. 

"Oh!';  Again  he  smiled,  but  this  time  it 
was  a  smile  of  understanding.  With  fingers 
which,  the  girl  fancied,  trembled  he  unfastened 
the  frosted  glass  door  opening  on  the  window. 
A  moment  later  he  was  brushing  a  cobweb  from 
a  small  bottle  containing  a  yellowish  liquid. 
A  soiled  and  faded  label  of  floral  design  was 
affixed  to  the  bottle,  and  on  it  appeared, 
as  in  letters  of  fire,  the  words,  "  Spirit  of 
Love." 

"  Spirit  of  Love ! "  murmured  the  barber, 
with  one  eye  on  the  bottle  and  the  other  on 
Christina.     "  One  shilling,  miss." 

A  faint  sigh  escaped  the  girl,  but  only  a  faint 
one.  It  would  take  all  her  shilling,  but  it  was 
worth  it. 

"Hoo  much  should  a  lady  tak'?"  she  asked 
diffidently,  pointing  at  the  bottle. 

"  Oh,  just  a  few  drops,  miss,"  the  barber 
replied,  becoming  grave  with  an  effort.  "  It 
is  a  very  strong  extract.     Perhaps  you  would 


THE  MAGIC  POTION  125 

like  to  smell  it."  He  withdrew  the  glass  stop- 
per and  presented  the  bottle. 

Christina  smelt  cautiously.  "  Is  it  jist 
scent?"  she  cried,  looking  doubtful. 

"  It  is  a  most  charming  scent,"  he  replied, 
with  another  dreadful  but  reassuring  smile. 
"  The  very  latest,  prepared  from  a  secret  re- 
ceipt." 

"Oh!     Would  it— charm  a  lady?" 

"  Certainly !  I  have  sold  hundreds  of  bottles 
of  '  Spirit  of  Love '  to  gentlemen  for  that  very 
object,  miss,"  he  said,  fondling  the  phial  which 
he  had  had  in  stock  for  twelve  long  and  weary 
years.     "  Charms  them  like  magic !  "  he  added. 

"  Like  magic?  " 

"  Like  nothing  else,  miss." 

"  An'  it  wudna  hurt  her?  " 

The  barber  stared.  "Hurt  her?  Certainly 
not ! "  he  said  at  last.  "  It  will  only  charm 
and  refresh.  A  few  drops  on  the  handkerchief 
will  be  found  wonderfully  invigorating.  Ah ! 
now  I  think  I  see  what  you  meant  when  you 
asked  about  its  hurting!  Do  you  wish  the 
bottle  for  a  sick  friend?  Just  so!  In  that 
case  a  few  drops  on  the  pillow  will  prove  a  real 
charm." 

Christina  nearly  dropped.  It  was  too  won- 
derful !  A  sick  friend !  How  could  this  terri- 
ble man  know  that  her  aunt  had  been  feeling 
sick  on  the  steamer? 

He  must  be  a  Sosserer! 

Speechless,  she  laid  her  shilling  on  the  coun- 


126  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

ter.  It  seemed  an  age  till  the  barber  handed 
her  the  small  parcel  with  a  polite  "  Thank  you, 
miss." 

Clutching  it,  she  fled  from  the  dread  pres- 
ence. 

So  subdued  and  silent  was  she  for  the  rest 
of  the  dav  that  Miss  Purvis  became  alarmed, 
and  insisted  on  her  taking  some  particularly 
nasty  physic  before  retiring  for  the  night. 

It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  A  high 
wind  was  wailing  round  the  humble  dwelling. 
Christina,  wide-awake,  shivered. 

She  had  intended  to  perform  the  magic  spell 
at  midnight,  but  her  aunt  had  been  very  rest- 
less in  her  sleep.  Now,  at  last,  a  steady,  gentle 
snore  told  the  girl  that  her  opportunity  had 
come. 

Cautiously  Christina  drew  from  under  her 
pillow  the  phial  of  "  Spirit  of  Love."  Care- 
fully she  withdrew  the  stopper,  and,  holding 
her  finger  on  the  orifice,  prepared  to  let  the 
drops  fall  on  her  aunt's  pillow.  Several  times 
she  hesitated,  but  at  last  her  courage  prevailed. 
Mr.  Baldwin  was  coming  on  the  morrow.  Her 
aunt  must  be  charmed. 

She  poised  the  bottle  over  the  pillow,  at  a 
safe  distance  from  the  sleeper's  head.  She 
would  let  fall  seven  drops,  which  she  had  read 
somewhere  was  the  perfect  number.     Now! 

One!     Two!     Three!     Four!— Oh! 

The  sudden  squall  of  a  cat  rent  the  air. 


THE  MAGIC  POTION  127 

When  Christina  recovered  her  wits  the  bottle 
was  empty. 

Miss  Purvis  started  up. 

"  Oh,  heavens !  what  is  that  abominable 
smell?" 

Christina  sobbed  bitterly,  yet  thankfully. 
She  was  glad  she  had  not  killed  her  aunt.  But 
she  gave  no  explanations  beyond  exhibiting  the 
empty  bottle,  which  Miss  Purvis,  after  lighting 
a  candle,  threw  into  the  fireplace  with  the 
remark  "  Spirit  of  Fiddlesticks !  "  Whereupon 
Christina  sobbed  more  bitterly  than  ever. 

Miss  Purvis  in  desperation  opened  the  win- 
dow, and  the  chill  blast  played  briskly  on  the 
scent-saturated  bed  for  the  rest  of  that 
wretched,  wretched  night. 

In  the  morning  Miss  Purvis  had  a  splitting 
headache,  induced  by  the  reeking  perfume,  and 
a  painfully  stiff  neck,  caused  by  the  draught 
from  the  window. 

And  Mr.  Baldwin — a  note  informed  Miss 
Purvis — had  a  wedding  to  attend  in  Glasgow 
and  would  not  call  for  another  week. 

And  Christina  had  a  broken  heart — almost. 


E 


XIV 
THE  COMPACT 

"  ISTEN  to  this,  auntie ! " 

Miss  Purvis  was  engaged  in  opening 
a  parcel  of  periodicals,  which  had  ar- 
rived by  the  evening  steamer  and  which  Chris- 
tina had  just  fetched  from  the  pier. 
"  Listen  to  this,  auntie !  " 
"  I  am  listening." 

Christina  proceeded  to  read  from  a  mustard- 
coloured  handbill  the  following — 

Grand  Moonlight  Cruise  to  Rothesay  Bay, 
by  the  North  British  Coy.'s  Steamer  Marmion, 
on  Friday  evening,  23rd  August  (weather  per- 
mitting). Steamer  leaves  Kilmabeg  at  1.20, 
returning  about  10  p.m.  Music  on  board. 
Fare — one  shilling. 

She  paused  impressively. 

"  Indeed,"  said  Miss  Purvis  absently. 

"What  price  a  moonlight  cruise,  auntie?" 
Christina's  excitement  was  ill-suppressed. 

"  Didn't  you  say  it  was  one  shilling?  "  the 
spinster  returned,  beginning  to  count  the  items 
in  the  parcel. 

"  Tits !     .     .     .     Are  ye  on  for  a  moonlight 

128 


THE  COMPACT  129 

cruise,  auntie?  My,  it  wud  be  rare  fun? 
Eh?" 

"  There  is  a  Boudoir  Companion  short  here," 
murmured  Miss  Purvis,  "  and  a  Christian  Dis- 
patch too  many." 

"  What's  the  odds?  I'm  askin'  ye  if  ye're  on 
for  a  moonlight  cruise  on  Friday." 

"  Oh  yes,  of  course — I  mean  no,  certainly 
not,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  who  happened  to  have 
a  headache.  "  I  do  not  think  such  a  cruise 
would  be  very  nice,  Christina." 

"  Ha'e  ye  ever  been  a  moonlight  cruise?" 

"  Not  since  I  was  very  young." 

"  Aboot  ma  age,  eh?  " 

"  Oh  no ;  not  quite  so  young  as  you,  my 
dear." 

"  It  strikes  me,"  Christina  observed  gloomily, 
"  that  I'll  never  be  the  richt  age  for  enjeyin' 
maseP.  I'm  ower  young  the  noo ;  an'  when  I'm 
no'  ower  young,  I'll  be  ower  auld.  Oh,  what 
a  life ! " 

"Hush,  Christina!  You  are  talking  non- 
sense. There's  a  time  for  everything."  The 
spinster  passed  her  hand  over  her  forehead  and 
sighed  wearily. 

The  girl  looked  at  her. 

"Ha'e  ye  a  sair  heid,  auntie?" 

"  I'm  afraid  I  have,  dear." 

"  That's  a  peety."  Christina's  tone  was 
quite  sympathetic,  even  when  she  added,  "  I 
suppose  it  was  the  crab  ye  had  to  yer  supper 
last  nicht  that  done  it.    Ye're  aye  upset  efter 


130  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

ye've  ett  a  crab.  I  ken  ye're  passionately  fond 
o'  crabs,  but  ye  should  learn  to  say  '  No/ 
auntie.     Is  yer  heid  awfu'  bad?" 

"  No ;  it  is  not  really  very  bad.  I  dare  say  it 
will  pass  off  after  tea." 

"  I'll  mak'  the  tea  the  noo,"  Christina  said 
briskly. 

"  That  would  be  very  nice,"  her  aunt  re- 
sponded with  a  grateful  smile.  "  You  are  a 
kind,  thoughtful  girl,  Christina." 

"Hooch,  ay!  Jist  you  sit  quate  an'  never 
heed  yer  Boodwar  Companions  an'  Dispatches 
the  noo.  Wud  ye  like  a  dose  o'  meddicine — 
eh?  No?  Aweel,  jist  as  ye  please.  It's  for 
you  to  say.  .  .  .  I'll  ha'e  the  tea  ready  in 
twa  shakes.  Ye  better  no'  tak'  hot  toast  the 
nicht — dry  toast'll  suit  ye  better.  Noo,  dinna 
stir  till  I  cry  on  ye." 

With  the  utmost  enthusiasm  Christina  set 
about  preparing  the  meal.  She  regretted  her 
aunt's  suffering,  but  she  did  enjoy  taking 
charge.  Having  put  the  kettle  on  the  fire,  she 
proceeded  to  lay  the  table,  singing  as  she  did 
so — 

"  Oh,  come  along  an'  get  yer  hair  cut! 
Til  shave  ye  while  ye  wait ; 
Til  scrape  the  skin  that  grows  on  yer  chin, 

An'  leave  it  as  smooth  as  a  plate  ! 
For  we're  a'  T.  T. ,  frae  the  boss — that's  me — 

To  the  boy  that  pits  on  the  soap. 
80  have  no  fear  0'  losin'  yer  ear 
At  M'Murtrie's  barber's  sliope — 
Ta-ra-ra  !  " 


THE  COMPACT  131 

She  repeated  the  verse  several  times  in  a 
moderately  soft  voice,  but  thereafter  her  sing- 
ing grew  louder  and  louder  till — 

"  Christina !  "  called  her  aunt. 

"  Hullo !  "  she  replied,  going  to  the  door. 

"  Do  not  sing  that  dreadful  song,  please." 

"  Did  it  hurt  yer  heid,  auntie?  " 

"  No ;  but  Mrs.  MacBean,  who  was  in  the 
shop  a  moment  ago,  was  perfectly  shocked." 

"  She's  easy  shocked.  What  was  she 
buyin'?" 

"  Mrs.  MacBean  was  collecting  for  the  For- 
eign Missions." 

"  Oh,  weel,  I  hope  she  didna  collect  ony- 
thing  aff  you!  I  wudna  gi'e  her  a  maik — the 
auld  goat-faced  kangaroo !  " 

"  Christina ! " 

"  Aw,  I  forgot  aboot  yer  heid,  auntie.  I'm 
sorry.  The  tea'll  be  ready  in  a  jiffy.  Oh, 
mercy !  there  the  kettle  bilin'  ower ! "  And 
Christina  fled  back  to  her  duty. 

An  hour  later  Miss  Purvis  admitted  that  the 
tea  had  done  her  a  world  of  good,  and  by  eight 
o'clock,  when  business  was  over,  she  expressed 
herself  as  quite  better. 

Happening  to  raise  her  eyes  above  the  man- 
telpiece, she  caught  sight  of  the  yellow  hand-  " 
bill,  which  Christina  had  pinned  to  the  oleo- 
graph of  "  The  Stag  at  Bay." 

"  I  do  not  think  that  is  an  ornament,  my 
dear,"  she  mildly  remarked. 

"  I  didna  mean  it  for  an  ornament.     I  stuck 


132  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

it  up  so  we  wudna  forget  the  moonlight  cruise 
on  Friday,  auntie." 

"  But,  my  dear  girl " 

"  You  an'  me's  gaun  to  ha'e  an'  awfu'  skite, 
eh,  auntie?" 

"Nonsense,  Christina!  I  would  never  think 
of  going  to  such  a  thing." 

"  I  suppose  I'll  ha'e  to  gang  masel',"  said 
Christina  carelessly. 

"  Certainly  not !  " 

t/ 

"  But  I've  decidet  to  gang.  I've  nae  money, 
but  I'll  gang  as  a  stowaway." 

Miss  Purvis  held  her  peace. 

"  Come  on,  auntie,  say  ye'll  gang.  It  wud 
be  an  awfu'  disgrace  to  you  if  I  was  catched 
bein'  a  stowaway,  an " 

"  Do  not  sav  catched,  Christina." 

"  Nabbit,  then.  It  wud  be  an  awfu'  dis- 
grace, wud  it  no'?  But  I  ken  ye'll  come.  I'll 
promise  to  behave  masel',  auntie,  an'  ye'll  en- 
jey  it  fine — if  ye're  carefu'  what  ye  eat  afore 
ye  start.  It'll  remind  ye  o'  yer  young  days, 
eh?" 

"  I  never  heard  of  such  an  idea !  "  said  Miss 
Purvis.     "  What  makes  you  want  to  go?  " 

"  Oh,  weel,  near  everybody  in  Kilmabeg  has 
been  to  moonlight  cruises  except  us.  An' 
Friday's  the  last  this  year." 

"  Well,  perhaps,  next  year " 

"  Some  time,  never ! "  groaned  Christina. 
"  That's  the  wey  folk  miss  their  chances. 
We'll  maybe  no'  be  leevin'  next  year." 


THE  COMPACT  133 

"  Hush ! "  Miss  Purvis  spoke  reprovingly. 
"  This  is  only  Monday.     I  must  think  over  it." 

"  It  wud  save  ye  a  heap  o'  thinkin',  auntie,  if 
ye  decided  noo." 

"You  must  not  be  impertinent,  Christina." 

"  It  was  jist  the  truth.  I  didna  mean  for  to 
be  impiddent.  D'ye  think  ye'll  ha'e  made  up 
yer  mind  by  the  morn's  nicht,  auntie?" 

"  It  is  impossible  to  say." 

Christina  heaved  a  sigh  and  relapsed  into  si- 
lence.    Miss  Purvis  knitted  steadily. 

At  the  end  of  ten  minutes  Christina  rose, 
went  into  the  shop,  and  returned  with  a 
gaudily  covered  novelette. 

Wife  or  No  Wife  was  the  title,  and  she  re- 
peated it  aloud. 

"  I  forbid  you  to  read  that,"  said  her  aunt. 

"What  wey?" 

"  Because  you  are  too  young." 

"What  awl  to  read?" 

Miss  Purvis  reflected.  At  last  she  said,  in 
her  primmest  voice,  "  I  have  been  thinking 
lately  that  it  would  be  very  pleasant  if  you 
were  to  read  something  aloud  to  me  every 
evening,  my  dear." 

"  Richt  ye  are !  "  said  Christina,  opening  the 
novelette. 

"  No ;  not  that  kind  of  reading.  I  mean 
good  reading.  Now,  if  you  go  to  the  shelf,  you 
will  find  a  little  book — a  little  green  book — 
called  Gems  of  Poesic.  You  might  bring  it  to 
me." 


134  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina  rose  without  much  eagerness,  and 
brought  her  aunt  the  volume  mentioned. 

"  I  got  this  as  a  prize  when  I  was  at  school, 
Christina." 

"  It's  no'  much  o'  a  prize ;  what  did  ye  get  it 
for?     Punctuality,  eh?" 

"  For  good  conduct,  Christina." 

"  Come  on,  noo !  Ye're  tryin  to  cod 
me!" 

"To  what?" 

"  Och,  never  heed.  I  beg  yer  paurdon.  I 
see  '  for  good  conduct '  on  the  front  page,  richt 
enough.     Is't  poetry?" 

"  The  finest  of  poetry.  That  is  why  it  is 
called  Gems  of  Poesie.  Now,  what  will  you 
read  to  me?  " 

"  You  read  first,  auntie,"  said  Christina, 
backing  away. 

"  Certainly,"  said  Miss  Purvis  agreeably. 
She  turned  over  the  pages.  "  Ah !  here  is  a 
beautiful  poem.  Sit  down,  Christina,  and  pay 
great  attention." 

Christina  sat  down  and  began  to  whistle 
softly. 

"  Hush !  Listen  to  this  beautiful  poem.  It 
is  by  William  Wordsworth.  It  is  called  '  We 
are  Seven.' "  Miss  Purvis  emitted  several 
delicate  coughs. 

"Did  ye  say  seven  or  seventy,  auntie?"  in- 
quired her  niece. 

"  Seven,  Christina.  '  We  are  Seven.'  Now 
attend ! — 


THE  COMPACT  135 

"  I  met  a  little  cottage  girl : 

Site  was  eight  years  old,  she  said — " 

"Och,  I  ken  that!"  Christina  interrupted. 
"  It  was  in  ma  last  year's  reader.    I  ken  it 

fine." 

"  Then,  perhaps,  since  you  know  it  so  well," 
said  Miss  Purvis,  somewhat  snappily,  "you 
can  tell  me  what  comes  after  the  two  lines  I 
have  just  read." 

"  Hooch,  av ! — 

"  I  met  a  little  cottage  girl: 

She  was  eight  years  old,  she  said  ; 
She  took  her  little  porringer 
An'  stuck  it  on  her  head  !  " 

And  Christina  laughed  heartily. 

"  Christina !  "  gasped  her  aunt.  "  I'm  sur- 
prised at  you ! " 

"  That  was  the  wey  yin  o'  the  lassies  used  to 
say  it.  Is  there  nae  love-poetry  in  that  prize 
o'  yours  ?  " 

Miss  Purvis  ignored  the  inquiry.  "  If  you 
are  going  to  make  mock  of  these  beautiful 
verses,  I  shall  not  read  another  line." 

"  Oh,  read  anither,  please,  auntie." 

After  some  hesitation  the  spinster  began — 

"  Oft  have  I  heard  of  Lucy  Gray — " 

"  Same  here,"  said  Christina.  "  But  fire 
awa\" 

Miss  Purvis  shut  the  book,  laid  it  aside,  and 
resumed  her  knitting. 


136  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

A  minute  went  slowly  past. 

"  Auntie !  " 

"  Yes  ?  "  very  coldly. 

"Auntie!"  ' 

"What  is  it?" 

"  I — I  didna  mean  to  offend  ye.  Gi'e's  an- 
ither  chance.  I  couldna  help  kennin'  aboot 
the  little  cottage  girl  an'  Miss  Gray.  They 
were  baith  in  ma  lesson  book.  Read  anither, 
if  ye  please,  auntie.  I'll  haud  ma  tongue  this 
time." 

Miss  Purvis  relaxed  from  the  stiff  attitude 
she  had  assumed. 

"  Well,  Christina,  if  you  will  promise  not  to 
interrupt,  I  might  read  you  '  Lord  Ullin's 
Daughter.'     It  is  by  Thomas  Campbell " 

"  That's  the  name  o'  the  sclater  in  Kilma- 
beg." 

"  Never  mind  that.  '  Lord  Ullin's  Daughter  ' 
is  an  exceedingly  fine  poem." 

"  Was  she  young  or  auld?  " 

"  She  was  young " 

"  As  voung  as  me?  " 

"  Oh  no ;  she  was  a  young  lady  who  ran 
away  with  her  lover " 

"Her  lover!  Oh,  my!  Please  read  it, 
auntie,"  cried  Christina,  and,  curling  one  leg 
round  the  other,  settled  herself  to  listen. 

Miss  Purvis  read  the  whole  tale  without  suf- 
fering a  single  interruption,  and  at  its  con- 
clusion her  niece  was  pleased  to  say — 

"  That's  a  champion  pome,  auntie.     I  like  it 


THE  COMPACT  137 

rale  weel.  But  what  a  peety  they  got  droondit, 
an'  what  an  auld  besom  the  fayther  was!  I 
wish  ye  wud  read  it  again.     Please,  auntie." 

Miss  Purvis  was  frankly  delighted. 

"  Now,  I'm  sure  that  such  a  poem  is  far  more 
worth  reading  than  trashy  novels,  my  dear. 
How  would  you  like  to  learn  'Lord  Ullin's 
Daughter'  by  heart?" 

Christina  smiled  doubtfully. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  cried  Miss 
Purvis,  with  a  sudden  inspiration.  "  If  you 
can  repeat  the  poem  correctly  to  me  by  Thurs- 
day night,  I'll  take  you  to  the  moonlight  cruise 
on  Friday — provided  that  the  weather  is  very 
fine.    Now,  what  do  you  say  to  that?" 

The  girl  jumped  up.  "  I'm  on ! "  she 
shouted,  and  fell  upon  her  aunt's  neck. 

She  spent  the  rest  of  the  evening  in  studying 
"  Lord  Ullin's  Daughter,"  and  went  to  bed  in  a 
fever  of  anticipation. 

About  3  a.m.  Miss  Purvis  was  roused  from 
her  slumbers. 

"  Auntie !     Auntie !  " 

"What  is  it?  Don't  you  feel  well?"  Miss 
Purvis  sniffed  violently,  and  was  relieved  at 
the  absence  of  perfume. 

"  D'ye  think  it'll  be  fine  on  Friday?  " 

"Friday?  Oh  yes — yes,  I  hope  it  will  be 
fine.     Go  to  sleep,  dear." 

"  I'm  thinkin'  it'll  be  a  queer  suck  for  me  if 
Friday's  wat.     I  canna  imlearn  the  pome." 


M 


XV 

THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE 

"Y!  what  a  lovely  evenin'!  The 
baker  was  oot  o'  sweet-mulk  scones, 
so  I  had  to  tak'  cookies  instead. 
But  they're  jist  new  oot  the  oven,  so  ye  better 
no'  eat  ony  till  efter  the  moonlight  cruise, 
auntie." 

Christina  laid  her  purchase  on  the  counter, 
and  again  remarked  on  the  loveliness  of  the 
evening. 

"  I  hope  it  is  not  going  to  rain,"  Miss  Purvis 
returned.  "  Dear  me !  These  cookies  are 
quite  warm!  They  would  be  delicious  toasted 
and  buttered " 

"  Efter  the  moonlight  cruise,"  said  Christina 
firmly. 

"  Really,  Christina !  "  protested  the  spinster, 
who  doted  on  hot  buttered  cookies. 

"  It's  for  yer  ain  guid,  auntie.  Ye  needna 
flee  up  as  if  I  had  bit  yer  nose  off." 

"  What  a  horrible  expression  to  use !  I  shall 
certainly  not  allow  you  to  tell  me  what  I 
should,  or  should  not,  eat.  For  the  last  three 
days  you  have  been  most  rude,  watching  every 
bite  I  put  in  my  mouth.  What  do  you  mean 
by  it?"     Miss  Purvis  spoke  indignantly. 

138 


THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE        139 

Christina  regarded  her  more  with  sorrow 
than  anger.  "  Eat  yer  cookies,"  she  said  at 
last,  in  a  tone  of  utter  despair,  "  eat  yer  cook- 
ies! But  remember — remember  I  warned 
ye ! "  She  turned  and  went  slowly  towards 
the  living-room, 

"  Christina ! " 

"  I  hear  ye." 

"  Come  back  here !  " 

Christina  came  slowly  back. 

Miss  Purvis  put  on  her  glasses,  and  they 
slipped  off  and  landed  on  the  floor. 

"  I'll  get  them  for  ye,"  said  Christina 
briskly,  coming  round  the  counter. 

"  No,     thank     you,"     said     Miss     Purvis 
haughtily.     She  stooped,  recovered  her  glasses, 
rose,  and  bumped  her  head  against  the  edge  of 
the  counter. 

"  Did  ve  hurt  versel',  auntie?  " 

"  Certainly  not !  "  said  Miss  Purvis,  her  eyes 
full  of  tears.  She  turned  her  back  on  her 
niece. 

"Are  ye  offendit?"  Christina  asked  anx- 
iously. 

Miss  Purvis  produced  her  handkerchief  and 
pretended  to  blow  her  nose. 

"  Ye've  hurt  yersel' !  "  cried  Christina,  with 
concern  in  her  voice.  "  Here,  auntie,  till  I  feel 
if  ye've  raised  a  lump.  It  was  a  queer  dunt 
ye  gi'ed  yer  heid.  Was  it  yer  broo?  Wull  I 
get  ye  a  bit  butter?  " 

"  I  wish  you  would  go  away !  " 


140  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Och,  auntie !  " 

"  Go  away  this  minute !  " 

At  this  point  a  customer  entered  the  shop. 

Christina  sighed  and  retired,  taking  the  bag 
of  cookies  with  her. 

"  Thank  heaven,  the  wound  isna  mortal,"  she 
said  to  herself,  quoting  from  a  recent  novelette. 
"  I  didna  mean  to  offend  her— I'll  mak'  the 
tea,  an'  that'll  maybe  cheer  her  up." 

Twenty  minutes  later  a  delicious  odour  stole 
into  the  shop. 

"  Christina!  what  are  you  doing?  "  cried  the 
spinster,  after  a  long,  luxurious  sniff. 

"  Tea's  ready,  auntie." 

"Tea?" 

"Ay!     TEA,  tea!" 

Miss  Purvis,  trying  to  frown,  entered  the 
living-room. 

"Christina!     What  is  this?" 

"  These,"  replied  Christina,  bringing  from 
the  oven  a  covered  dish,  "  these  is  cookies ! " 

"  Are  cookies,  my  dear." 

"  They'll  soon  be  ivas  cookies,"  remarked 
Christina,  with  a  happy  giggle.  "Sit  doon, 
auntie!  Dinna  be  bashfu'!  Enjey  yersel' 
while  ye're  young !  '  A  chieftain,  to  the  High- 
lands hound,  cries,  Boatman,  do  not  tarry!  an' 
I'll  give  thee  a ' — Tak'  care  an'  no'  burn  yersel'. 
They're  pipin'  hot,  auntie — '  a  silver  pound  to 
row  us  o'er  the  ferry!'  I  can  say  it  fine — 
eh,  auntie?  " 

"You're  an  extraordinary  girl,  Christina," 


THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE        141 

said  Miss  Purvis,  laughing  in  spite  of  herself. 
"  Am  I  really  to  be  permitted  to  eat  a  cookie?  " 

"  If  ye  behave  yersel',  ye'll  maybe  get  twa ! 
My!  it's  a  lovely  evenin'  for  a  moonlight 
cruise!     I  never  seen  the  sea  sae  calm." 

"  That  is  delightful,"  remarked  Miss  Purvis, 
raising  a  cookie  to  her  mouth. 

"  Haud  on,  auntie !  Ye  forgot  to  ask  a 
blessin'." 

"  So  I  did,  my  dear.  But,  really,  you  con- 
fuse me  so." 

Miss  Purvis  said  grace,  and  the  meal  pro- 
ceeded, Christina  enlivening  it  with  snatches 
from  "  Lord  Ullin's  Daughter,"  till  her  aunt 
devoutly  wished,  in  secret,  that  the  poem  had 
never  been  penned. 

"  Hooch,  ay !  It's  a  champion  pome !  "  the 
girl  observed  when  the  hot  plate  was  empty. 
"  It's  a  bit  sad,  but  I  suppose  it's  better  to 
ha'e  loved  an'  lost  than  never  to  ha'e  loved  at 
all.  An'  if  ive  get  droondit  at  the  moonlight 
cruise,  it'll  be  nice  to  think  we  ett  the  cookies, 
an'  didna  leave  them  to  wur  ancestors.  Is  it 
no'  time  we  was  gettin'  dressed,  auntie?  I  see 
ye've  done  yer  hair  in  advance,  so  it'll  no'  tak' 
ye  long  to  tosh  yersel'  up.  Come  on,  an'  we'll 
wash  the  dishes,  an'  then  I'll  mind  the  shope 
till  ye  perform  yer  toilet.     Hoo's  yer  nut?" 

"My  nut?" 

"  I  meant  to  say  yer  heid,  auntie." 

"  Oh !  Christina,  Christina !  will  you  nev- 
er  " 


142  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Aw,  dinna  be  vexed,  auntie,"  said  Chris- 
tina apologetically.  "  I'll  learn  the  richt 
words  some  day.  This  is  the  nicht  o'  the  moon- 
light cruise!  What  price  a  life  on  the  ocean 
wave?  Come  on,  auntie.  I'll  wash,  an'  you'll 
dry.  Pass  the  plates.  Oh,  mercy!  there  a 
customer!  Haste  ye,  auntie,  an'  dinna  gossip 
— for  less  nor  a  shillin'.  I'll  manage  the 
dishes  masel'.    '  One  lovely  arm  ivas  streetched 

for   aid,   an'   one  was   round   her   lover' 

Oh,  mercy !     I've  chipped  it !  " 

Thanks  to  Christina  they  were  on  the  pier 
about  half-an-hour  too  early. 

"  Never  heed.  It's  a  lovely  evenin',"  she  re- 
marked cheerfully.  "  I  wonder  at  ye  bringin' 
yer  waterproof  an'  bumberstick,  auntie !  " 

"  You  ought  to  have  brought  your  own 
waterproof  when  I  told  you,  Christina.  Look 
at  the  clouds." 

"  That's  heat." 

"  Heat ! "  cried  Miss  Purvis,  with  a  little 
shiver. 

"Are  ye  cauld,  auntie?  Come  on,  an'  I'll 
race  ye  up  the  pier  an'  back !    Are  ye  on  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not !  " 

"  Weel,  what  wud  ye  like  to  dae  to  pass  the 
time?  Wud  ye  like  me  to  recite  '  Lord  Ullin's 
Daughter'— eh?" 

"  Ye — es,"  said  the  spinster,  making  her 
choice  of  two  evils. 

So  Christina  reeled  off  the  poem — with,  it 
must  be  confessed,  more  fluency  than  feeling. 


THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE        143 

"You  have  certainly  got  it  by  heart,"  her 
aunt  observed,  smiling  faintly. 

"What  price  an  encore?"  asked  Christina, 
looking  gratified. 

"  I  do  wish  you  would  not  use  that  stupid 
expression,  my  dear.     It  irritates  me." 

"Does  it?  Weel,  I'll  no'  say  it  again.  I — 
I  hope  ye're  feelin'  a'  richt,  auntie." 

"  I  never  felt  better ;  but  I  do  find  it  chilly." 

"  Jist  you  thole  till  ye  get  on  the  boat,  an' 
then  ye'll  soon  be  warm.  I  hear  there's  gaun 
to  be  dancin'  to  the  music  on  board.  I'll  get 
the  postman — he's  gaun  the  cruise — to  gi'e  ye 
a  polka.     What  price  a — I  mean  to  say " 

"  Christina !  "  exclaimed  the  horrified  Miss 
Purvis,  "  you  promised  me  you  would  behave, 
if  I  took  you  this  cruise.  If  you  are  going  to 
affront  me " 

Christina  squeezed  her  aunt's  arm.  "  I  was 
jist  jokin',  auntie.  I  ken  fine  ye're  no'  a 
dancer.     I'll  no'  affront  ye." 

A  goodly  number  of  people  were  waiting  on 
the  pier,  when  at  last  the  Marmion,  already 
well  laden,  came  alongside. 

"  My !  what  a  crood !  I  doot  we'll  ha'e  to  sit 
on  wur  thumbs,"  said  Christina.  "  Haud  on 
to  me,  an'  I'll  help  ye  to  win  through,  auntie." 

She  espied  a  single  vacant  seat  near  the 
band,  dragged  her  aunt  to  it,  and  pushed  her 
upon  it  with  a  laugh  of  triumph. 

"  It's  lucky  for  you  ye've  got  me,"  she  said. 


144  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Thank  you,  Christina,"  said  Miss  Purvis, 
panting.  "  But  where  are  you  going  to 
sit?" 

"  Aw,  I'll  jist  ha'e  a  bit  stroll  in  the  mean- 
time.    So-long!     See  an'  enjey  yersel'." 

"  Christina,  you  must  not  leave  me !  " 

"Are  ye  feelin'  bad  already,  auntie?" 

"  You  must  stay  beside  me,  and  behave." 

Christina  looked  rebellious.  She  wanted 
very  much  to  rove  about  the  deck  among  the 
throng  which,  she  hopefully  suspected,  con- 
sisted largely  of  lovers.  The  band  was  playing 
for  all  it  was  worth — or,  at  any  rate,  for  all 
it  hoped  to  be  worth  by  the  end  of  the  voyage 
— and  every  moment  the  music  made  her  feel 
more  reckless  and  restless.  She  gazed  about 
her  in  the  hope  of  discovering  a  friend,  but 
all  the  Kilmabeg  girls  on  board  were  her 
seniors  by  years.  There  was  no  one  for  whose 
company  she  might  excusably  leave  her  aunt's. 

"  Oh,  I  wish  auntie  had  a  mash,"  she  sighed 
to  herself.     "  I  wish  Baldyin  was  here." 

"  You  may  sit  on  my  knee  for  a  little,  my 
dear,"  Miss  Purvis  said  kindly. 

Christina  quivered,  but  pretended  not  to 
hear. 

But  just  then — oh,  joy! — the  Kilmabeg 
baker's  eldest  daughter  came  up  and  spoke  to 
Miss  Purvis. 

Christina  hesitated,  and  was  lost — in  the 
crowd.  For  an  hour  she  forgot  everything  in 
her  quest  for  romance,  and  traversed  the  deck 


THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE        145 

from  bow  to  stern,  from  stern  to  bow,  peering 
through  the  gathering  darkness  at  all  persons 
who  happened  to  be  sitting  or  standing  in 
pairs.  So  anxiously  did  she  peer,  that  at  last 
an  elderly  gentleman,  whom  she  had  passed 
several  times,  stopped  her  and  inquired  in 
fatherly  tones  if  she  had  lost  her  friends. 
Christina  was  so  annoyed  that  she  nearly 
made  a  rude  reply,  but  restrained  herself  in 
time,  and  with  a  toss  of  her  head  and  a  mut- 
tered negative,  left  the  elderly  gentleman  to 
"  mind  his  ain  business,"  as  she  expressed  it  to 
herself. 

The  moon,  which  had  hitherto  been  obscured, 
now  shone  through  the  clouds,  and  Christina 
caught  sight  of  a  young  man  and  a  young 
woman  seated  very  close  together  in  the  lee 
of  the  funnel,  the  former  talking  with  the  most 
intense  earnestness. 

Her  heart  leapt.  "  A  proposal ! "  she  mur- 
mured, and,  quite  unable  to  resist  the  tempta- 
tion, she  edged  gradually  towards  the  pair. 
All  things,  as  far  as  she  had  gathered  from 
her  reading,  were  now  in  keeping  with  a  pro- 
posal— the  moonlight,  the  calm  sea,  the  music. 
It  took  her  fully  ten  minutes  to  venture  near 
enough  to  hear  the  "  passionate  vowels  "  which 
she  imagined  to  be  pouring  from  the  lips  of 
the  "  adorin'  swine." 

"  Yes,"  the  young  man  was  saying,  "  after  a 
hard  day's  golf,  a  good,  juicy  steak,  with  chips 
and  a  bottle  of  stout,  is  hard  to  beat !  " 


146  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

And  as  Christina  stood  gazing  in  dazed  and 
horror-stricken  amazement  at  the  speaker  she 
felt  her  arm  gripped  gently. 

"  Christina !  where  have  you  been  all  this 
time?  I've  been  searching  everywhere  for 
you." 

Christina  started  violently. 

"  Hooch,  ay ! "  she  said,  recovering  herself, 
and  allowing  herself  to  be  led  away,  while  she 
accepted  her  aunt's  mild  lecture  without  utter- 
ing a  word. 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Purvis,  after  a 
pause,  "  I  don't  want  to  spoil  your  pleasure, 
but  I  think  you  might  stay  beside  me  for  the 
rest  of  the  cruise,  and " 

"  Are  ye  feelin'  bad,  auntie?  " 

"  I  never  felt  better,"  said  Miss  Purvis  with 
pride  and  satisfaction.  "  I  believe  I  could  get 
to  like  a  sea-faring  life  in  time.  And  d'you 
know  what  Miss  Brown  was  telling  me?" 
Miss  Brown  was  the  baker's  eldest  daughter. 
"  Guess  what  she  told  me,  Christina !  " 

Christina  looked  blank.  "What?"  she  in- 
quired. 

"  Oh,  you  must  try  to  guess,"  said  Miss 
Purvis,  all  smiles.     "  It's  a  great  event." 

"  Oh,  I  ken,"  returned  the  girl.  "  A  cookie 
burst  an'  killed  twa  currants !  " 

"  Christina ! " 

"  Weel,  what  was  the  event  aboot  Miss 
Broon?" 

Miss  Purvis  lowered  her  voice  to  a  whisper. 


THE  MOONLIGHT  CRUISE        147 

"  Miss  Brown  is  engaged  to  be  married !  Her 
fiance " 

"Her  what?" 

"Her  betrothed,  then,  is  on  board — such  a 
nice  young  fellow,  so  gentlemanly,  so " 

"  Ye're  no'  coddin'  me,  auntie?  " 

"  My  dear  child !  " 

"  Weel,  whaur  are  they — if  it's  true !  " 

"  They  have  seats  just  beside  where  I  was 
sitting,  and  they  are  keeping  my  seat  for  me. 
Come,  Christina." 

Christina  went  with  her  aunt,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  cruise  her  cup  of  bliss  ran  over. 
In  happy  silence  she  sat  on  three  inches  of 
seat,  watching  stealthily  the  really  and  truly 
engaged  couple.  Her  eyes  observed  every 
hand-squeeze;  her  ears  heard  every  murmured 
"  dear " ;  her  mind  imagined  romantic  inci- 
dents of  the  wooing  which  had  had  such  a  de- 
lightful conclusion.  It  was  not  until  the  very 
end — when  the  Marmion  was  once  more  at  Kil- 
mabeg  pier — that  her  young  heart  suffered  a 
pang  of  sadness. 

If  only  her  aunt  would  look  as  happy  as 
Miss  Brown!  If  only  her  aunt  were  engaged, 
too! 

All  the  way  home  Christina  felt  that  she 
would  do  anything  to  please  and  brighten  and 
cheer  her  aunt. 

"  Dear  auntie,"  she  suddenly  exclaimed, 
when,  a  little  later,  she  observed  Miss  Purvis 
gazing  rather  dejectedly,  as  she  thought,  at  the 


148  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

kettle  which  was  slow  in  boiling,  "  dear  auntie, 
wull  I  recite  ye  '  Lord  Ullin's  Daughter  '?  " 

And  Miss  Purvis  rubbed  her  sleepy  eyes, 
checked  a  groan,  smiled  vaguely,  and  said  very 
kindly — 

"  Yes,  if  you  please,  my  dear." 


XVI 
MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE 

ON    an    afternoon    towards    the   end    of 
September  Christina  bounced  into  the 
shop,    then    stopped    short,    regarding 
her  aunt  with  staring  eyes  and  open  mouth. 

"What's  up?"  she  gasped,  dropping  her 
school  books  on  the  floor. 

Her  aunt  frowned,  but  a  moment  later 
forced  a  smile. 

"You  are  home  early  to-day,  Christina." 

"Uh-ha.  The  teacher's  got  a  gum-bile. 
Awfu'  lucky.     Eh?" 

After  delivering  a  brief  lecture  on  respect 
for  one's  elders  and  those  in  authority,  Miss 
Purvis  said  pleasantly — 

"  I  see  you  are  looking  at  my  new  dress.  I 
hope  you  like  it,  Christina." 

"  Oh,  it's  fair  gorgeous !    But  what  wey " 

"Not  gorgeous,  I  trust,"  said  Miss  Purvis, 
laughing  uneasily. 

"  Weel,  it's  awfu'  stylish,  auntie.  The  trim- 
min's  fair  faskinatin'.  Did  it  jist  come  the 
day?" 

"Yes;  I  am  glad  you  like  it,  my  dear.  Now 
put  away  your  books " 

Christina  kicked  them  into  a  corner. 

149 


150  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

"  Not  that  way,  Christina.  When  will  you 
ever  learn  to  respect  and  take  care  of  your 
books?" 

"  Dear  knows,"  said  Christina,  recovering 
the  bag  and  slinging  it  through  the  half-open 
door  of  the  living  room. 

Miss  Purvis  shook  her  head,  but  her  niece 
took  no  notice  and  came  round  the  counter  to 
examine  the  new  dress  at  close  quarters. 

"  Ye've  nae  beads  on  it,"  she  remarked  pres- 
ently. 

"beads?" 

"  Ay,  beads.  But  maybe  ye're  no'  auld 
enough  for  beads.  I  like  the  sleeves,  though, 
an'  the  neck,  an'  the  waist.  My!  ye're  awfu' 
jimp  aboot  the  waist,  auntie!  I  doot  ye've 
been  tight-lacin'  like  the  fashionable  debew- 
tanties " 

"Hush,  Christina!" 

"  I  was  readin'  aboot  a  young  lady  that 
tight-laced  till  she  grew  three  inches  taller — " 

"Hush!    You  must  not  talk  of  such  things." 

"  Hooch,  av !  Dinna  excite !  Yer  hair's 
awfu'  nice  the  day.  That's  a  new  style  ye've 
got  for  it.  If  it  was  a  wee  thing  puffier,  ye 
wud  be  like  a  Gibson  girl.  Are  ye  wearin'  a 
pad?" 

"  Really,  Christina,  I  cannot  listen  to  such 
talk !    Pad,  indeed !  " 

"  Nae  offence.  Pads  is  a'  the  go  noo-a-days. 
They're  wore  in  the  highest  society — patron- 
ized wi'  Royalty.    But  what's  up?" 


MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE        151 

"Up,  Christina?"  Miss  Purvis  looked  at 
her  little  silver  watch. 

"  Ay !  Are  ye  expectin'  onybody  to  tea  the 
nicht?" 

"  No ;  I  am  not  expecting  anybody — to  tea, 
Christina,"  slowly  replied  Miss  Purvis,  avoid- 
ing her  niece's  gaze.  "  What  a  beautiful  after- 
noon it  is,"  she  added  hastily.  "  Are  you  not 
going  a  walk  this  afternoon,  Christina?  The 
fine  weather  will  soon  be  over,  and  you  ought 
to  take  advantage  of  it.     Really,  you  ought." 

Christina  eyed  her  aunt  steadily,  but  said 
nothing. 

"  I  don't  know  when  I  saw  such  a  beautiful 
afternoon,"  the  spinster  continued  nervously. 
"  It  is  really  remarkable  for  the  time  of  year. 
It  is  almost  a  sin  to  waste  it  indoors.  It  is  in- 
deed! Wouldn't  you  like  to  ask  Jessie  Ann 
to  go  a  walk  with  you?  I'm  sure  it  would  be 
delightful  up  the  loch  this  afternoon,  and " 

"  You  can  gang  oot  an'  gi'e  the  folk  a  treat, 
auntie,  an'  I'll  keep  the  shope  till  ye  come  back 
— eh?    Are  ve  on?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  I  cannot  do  that.  I — I  have 
some  accounts  to  make  up."  Miss  Purvis  sud- 
denly fell  to  hunting  among  the  papers  in  her 
desk. 

"  I'll  help  ye." 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear ;  but  it  would  be  much 
better  for  you  out-of-doors.  And — a — you 
might  call  at  the  baker's  and  get  some  nice 
cakes — what  you  like  best — for  tea." 


152  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

Christina  regarded  the  top  of  her  aunt's 
head  with  profound  suspicion  for  nearly  a 
minute.     Then  she  said — 

"  It's  ower  warm  for  walkin'.  I'll  jist 
gang  an'  sit  on  the  pier  till  the  boat  comes 
in." 

Miss  Purvis  suppressed  a  groan.  "  Don't 
you  think  it  would  be  much  nicer  up  the 
loch?"  she  said  feebly. 

"  Na,"  Christina  returned  firmly,  adding,  "  I 
think  I'll  pit  on  ma  guid  things." 

A  frantic  rustling  of  papers  was  the  only 
response. 

"  I'm  sayin',  auntie,  I  think  I'll  put  on  ma 
guid  things." 

"  Don't  be  absurd,  child !  "  said  the  spinster 
irritably.  "  Why  should  you  put  on  your  good 
clothes  to-day?  " 

"  To  keep  ye  comp'ny.  .  .  .  Oh,  thon- 
der's  the  boat  comin' !  " 

"  How  would  you  like,"  said  Miss  Purvis 
desperately,  still  rummaging  in  her  desk,  "  how 
would  you  like  to  walk  up  the  loch  and  inquire 
if  poor  old  Mrs.  M'Phedron  is  keeping  any 
better?  I'm  sure  she  would  be  very  glad  to 
see  you." 

"  I  dare  say  she  wud.  Can  I  get  the  lend 
o'  a  pair  o'  curlin'-tongs,  please?" 

"  Certainly  not !  What  on  earth  do  you 
want  to  dress  Yourself  for,  Christina?" 

"  Oh,  jist  for  fun.  .  .  .  But  ye  micht 
lend  us  a  pair  o'  tongs,  auntie.     I'll  no  spile 


MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE        153 

them,  an'  naebod.y'll  ever  ken  they've  been 
used."  Christina  edged  towards  the  drawer 
where  the  stock  of  tongs  was  kept.  "  Ma  hair's 
that  leeky,"  she  said  mournfully.  "  Come  on, 
auntie." 

"Oh,  well,  take  the  tongs,  Christina!"  cried 
Miss  Purvis  weakly.  "  It  is  very  wrong  of 
me  to  allow  you  to  encourage  your  vanity, 
but " 

"  Dinna  fash  yersel'  aboot  that,  auntie,"  said 
the  girl,  as  she  gleefully  selected  the  coveted 
implements.  "  It's  you  that's  the  toff  the  day. 
My!  ye're  dressed  to  kill  at  a  thoosan'  yards! 
Thenk  ve,  auntie." 

"  Don't  burn  yourself,"  said  Miss  Purvis, 
with  a  furtive  glance  through  the  window. 

"  Nae  fears !  I  hope  ye'll  no'  find  it  awfu' 
dull  till  I  appear  again."  So  saying  Christina 
retired  to  the  back  premises  and,  having  shut 
herself  therein,  stuffed  her  handkerchief  in  her 
mouth  and  skipped  round  the  table  some 
twenty  times. 

"  Oh,  Jamaica ! "  she  said  to  herself  at  last, 
as  she  inserted  the  curling-tongs  between  the 
ribs  of  the  grate,  "  there's  something  up  this 
time.  I  was  sure  it  was  Baldyin's  writin'  on 
the  letter  she  got  this  mornin'.  An'  then  she 
couldna  eat  her  breakfast.  An'  noo  she's  a' 
dressed  up,  an'  doesna  seem  to  ken  what  she's 
daein',  an'  wants  me  to  gang  oot  a  walk.  But 
I'm  no'  sae  green  as  I'm  cabbage  lookin'. 
There's    something    up,    or    I'm    a    duchess! 


154  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

.  .  .  I've  got  it!  He's  comin'  wi'  the  boat! 
That's  why  she  didna  want  me  to  gang  to  the 
pier.  An'  it's  no'  his  proper  day  for  comin'. 
I  wonder  why  he's  comin'  the  day.  .  .  . 
Oh,  what  if  he  was  to  propose!  She's  kin'  o' 
temptin'-lookin'  in  her  new  things;  but,  oh! 
I  hope  she's  no'  jist  triflin'  an'  flurtin'  wi' 
him." 

In  these  and  many  other  reflections  did 
Christina  indulge  during  the  next  few  minutes, 
while  her  aunt  continued  to  burrow  feverishly 
in  the  desk  without  any  definite  object  what- 
soever. 

The  door  of  the  shop  opened,  and  Miss  Pur- 
vis let  the  lid  of  the  desk  fall  with  a  loud  bang. 
Christina,  who  was  washing,  put  her  soapy 
hand  to  her  heart,  gasping,  "  It's  him !  Oh, 
Jamaica ! " 

Then  she  heard  a  piping,  childish  voice 
sav — 

"  Please,  could  ye  oblige  me  wi'  change  for 
a  penny  ?  " 

"  What  a  suck !  "  muttered  Christina,  and  re- 
sumed her  ablutions. 

But  ere  she  had  dried  her  face  the  hoped- 
for  thing  happened.  Mr.  Baldwin  arrived. 
She  heard  him  say,  "  Lovely  day !  "  in  his  usual 
hearty  tones,  but  immediately  thereafter  his 
voice  seemed  to  sink  to  a  mere  whisper. 

With  the  towel  in  her  hands  and  her  face 
still  damp  she  crept  to  the  door. 

But  she  did  not  peep.    Even  as  she  touched 


MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE        155 

the  curtain  covering  the  glass  she  drew 
back. 

"  Honour  among  thieves  is  the  best  policy," 
she  said  to  herself,  and  retired  to  the  shabby 
easy-chair,  wondering  where  she  had  read  the 
motto.  She  found  it  impossible  to  go  on  dress- 
ing herself.  She  could  only  sit  still — and 
wait — and  try  to  imagine  what  was  happening 
in  the  shop. 

Doubtless  she  imagined  many  vain  things, 
and  it  never  occurred  to  her  that  for  more  than 
a  year  she  herself  had  been  standing  in  the 
way  of  the  match  between  Mr.  Baldwin  and 
her  aunt.  And  it  would  surely  have  broken 
her  young  heart  had  she  known  that  Miss 
Purvis  had  been  striving  all  those  months  to 
make  her  "  a  young  lady,"  in  order  that  Miss 
Purvis  might  at  last  say,  "  Yes,"  without  com- 
punction, to  Mr.  Baldwin's  repeatedly  written 
proposals  of  marriage. 

Huddled  in  the  easy-chair,  Christina  won- 
dered which  knee  Mr.  Baldwin  would  sink  on ; 
and  then  it  struck  her  that,  whatever  knee  he 
sank  on,  he  would  hardly  be  able  to  see  Miss 
Purvis  for  the  counter.  It  was  rather  depress- 
ing. Nearly  all  her  heroes  had  proposed  in 
conservatories,  or  sylvan  dells,  or  on  moonlit 
moors,  or  sea-beat  shores.  A  few  had  pro- 
posed in  haunted  castles,  steam  yachts,  and  mo- 
tor-cars. But  not  once  had  she  read  of  a  pro- 
posal in  a  shop.  On  the  other  hand,  she  had 
read  that  "  Love  will  find  a  way,"  and  a  vision 


156  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

of  Mr.  Baldwin,  with  one  foot  on  a  chair  and 
one  knee  on  the  counter,  did  not  strike  her  as 
the  least  funny. 

Scarcely  a  sound  reached  her,  and  her  ears 
almost  ached  with  listening. 

"  I  suppose  the  adorin'  swine'll  be  whisperin' 
sweet  nothin's,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  I  never 
heard  Baldyin  sae  saft-spoken."  She  resisted 
another  strong  impulse  to  peep.  "  I  hope  she's 
no'  ower  coquettish  wi'  him.  She  should  catch 
him  when  she  gets  the  chance.  Oh,  my!  I 
wish  I  kent  what  they  was  speakin'  aboot." 

At  that  moment  Mr.  Baldwin  was  saying — 

"  You  might  as  well  call  me  '  James.'  And 
as  for  Christina,  I  hope  she  will  some  day  call 
me  '  Uncle  James.'  She  needs  an  uncle  as  well 
as  an  aunt — in  default  of  a  father  and  mother. 
There  is  nothing  wrong  with  the  girl  except 
her  speech — she  has  a  real,  good  heart,  which 
is  all  you  and  I  need  to  work  on.  We  shall 
make  a  fine  woman  of  Christina,  you  and  I — 
Mary.  Don't  let  her  stand  between  us  any 
longer;  let  her  bring  us  together,  my  dear — 
ahem !  " 

It  was  then  that  Miss  Purvis  said,  "  James  " 
for  the  first  time,  prefacing  it  with  an  "  O  " 
and  at  least  three  "  J's." 

And  it  was  then,  also,  that  Christina  became 
sensible  of  the  odour  of  burning  wood,  and 
realized  that  the  handles  of  the  red-hot  curling- 
tongs  were  charred  to  cinders. 

"If  he  doesna  propose,  I'm  a  waster,"  she 


MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE        157 

told  herself  when,  with  the  aid  of  shovel  and 
poker,  she  had  conveyed  the  ruined  tongs  to 
the  sink  and  heard  them  hiss  their  last  under 
a  cold  douche.  "  An'  I  ha'ena  even  curled  ma 
hair.  Oh,  me!  I  doot  I'm  no'  Fortune's 
favourite." 

Returning  to  the  easy-chair,  she  twisted  her 
legs  together,  interlocked  her  fingers,  and 
longed  for  something  to  happen. 

"  He's  got  nae'  samples  wi'  him,"  she 
thought,  "  or  I  wud  ha'e  heard  the  tin  things 
rattlin'.  That  proves  he's  no'  here  on  busi- 
ness. Oh,  he  must  be  proposin'.  If  it  wasna 
a  sacred  performance,  I  wud  ha'e  a  squint  at 
them.  I  wonder  if  he's  printin'  burnin'  kisses 
on  her  taper  finger.  ...  I  doot  I'll  never 
ha'e  taper  fingers.  .  .  .  But  I  suppose  I'll 
never  ha'e  an  adorin'  swine,  nor  get  engaged, 
nor  blight  ma  troth."  She  sighed  heavily. 
"  I  never  heard  o'  a  hero-ine  wi'  leeky  hair 
like  mine.  Oh,  never!  .  .  .  But  I  wudna 
mind  it  as  much  if  Baldyin  was  ma  uncle. — I 
maun  remember  to  ca'  him  Maister  Baldwin. 
If  he  was  nuptailed  to  auntie  I  wud  ca'  him 
Uncle  James.  James  is  a  nice  front  name. 
It's  maybe  no'  as  noble-like  as  Lionel  an' 
Marmaduke.  but,  still,  it's  a  nice  name.  .  .  . 
I  wonder  if  auntie  wud  ha'e  me  for  a  brides- 
maid. Oh,  my!  What  fun!  What  gorgeous- 
ness!  But  I  doot  she  thinks  I'm  no'  genteel 
and  discreet  enough.  Oh,  I  maun  try  to  be 
genteel  and  discreet.     I  maun  practise  hard. 


158  OH!  CHRISTINA! 

.  .  .  My!  I  wish  I  could  see  them  wi'oot 
spyin'.  They're  keepin'  terrible  quate.  I  hope 
she  hasna  spurned  him.  It  must  be  awfu' 
aggravatin'  to  be  spurned.  .  .  .  Mercy! 
what's  that?  He's  laughin' — an'  she's  laugh- 
in'!" 

And  Christina,  her  self-command  giving 
way,  let  out  a  loud,  long,  hysterical  cackle. 
For  a  few  moments  there  was  a  dead  silence  in 
the  shop,  and  then  Miss  Purvis  and  Mr.  Bald 
win  laughed  far  louder  than  before.  Chris- 
tina hid  her  hot,  angry  face  against  the  back 
of  the  chair.  People  who  could  laugh  like  that 
could  not  possibly  be  in  love.  It  was  all  up  a 
gum-tree !    Alas !    Alas ! 

Miss  Purvis  came  softly  into  the  living- 
room. 

"  Christina,  my  dear,"  she  said,  smiling, 
"  Mr.  Baldwin  wishes  to  speak  to  you.  He  has 
something  to  tell  you.     What's  the  matter?" 

"What's  up?"  Christina  gruffly  inquired, 
her  face  still  hidden. 

The  spinster  gently  stroked  the  girl's  hair, 
and,  in  a  low  voice,  said — 

"  It  will  be  a  great  surprise  to  you,  but — 
Mr.  Baldwin  is  going  to  be — your  uncle." 

"  Hooray ! "  said  Christina  feebly.  She 
meant  to  add  that  it  was  no  surprise  to  her, 
but,  somehow,  a  lump  came  into  her  throat, 
and,  throwing  her  arms  about  her  aunt's  neck, 
she  gave  way  to  tears. 


MISS  PURVIS'S  ROMANCE        159 

Ten  minutes  later,  however,  she  was  herself 
again,  making  extensive  suggestions  for  the 
wedding  which,  Miss  Purvis  bashfully  ad- 
mitted, might  possibly  take  place  in  March  or 
April. 


THE    END 


THE     QUINN     4     BODEN     CO.     PRESS,     RAHWAY,    N.     J. 


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Leaning  negligently  against 
the  side  of  the  doorway,  she 
crossed  one  leg  over  the  other, 
and  said  in  a  business-like 
voice — 

"  What  did  ye  say  was  the 
name  o'  the  pairty?"  The 
maid  looked  bewildered. 

"Wha  sent  ye?"  Christina 
demanded. 

"  Mistress  MacTougal ! — I  haf 
forgot  the  name  of  the  house. 
I  will  have  come  to  this  place 
Inst  night." 

"  Mistress  MacDougall — Och, 
I  ken  about  her.  Seaview's  her 
hoose.  Mind  that,  so  as  ye'll 
no'  get  lost." 


